Crystal ball sets unforeseen fire

By JOHN COLES

Published: Today

A WOMAN'S home has been wrecked by a freak fire sparked by the sun shining on a crystal ball on her window sill.

The £20 ornament refracted the rays straight into the back of Kim Yeates's TV which overheated and exploded, igniting a nearby sofa.

Kim, 53, who lived alone, was out visiting a friend and returned to find £10,000's worth of damage caused to her first-floor flat.

Firefighters blamed the 4in-diameter glass sphere she had kept in her window in Worle, Somerset.

The property is owned by a housing association and Kim, a former BBC production assistant, has been told it will take at least eight weeks to repair.

She has been forced into temporary accommodation in the meantime — but has lost most of her possessions for good because she had no insurance.

She said: "My life has been totally wrecked by this crystal ball. I've got no insurance and almost everything I owned was in the flat.

Rescue

"The fireman said that this is the first time he has ever heard of a crystal ball causing a fire in his 25 year career. He was just as surprised as me.

"I used to love looking at the crystal ball and watching the sunlight come through it but I wish I had never bought it now.

"I'm completely devastated."

Neighbour Neil Clarke, 28, discovered the fire and bravely climbed through a window to rescue Kim, thinking she was trapped inside.

When he discovered she was not there he turned off the gas taps and fled as firefighters arrived.

They got the blaze under control before finding the crystal ball, barely touched by the flames, lying under the window sill.

They later told Kim that the ornament, which she bought from an art gallery shop three years ago, was the cause of the fire.

She added: "I want to say a big thank you to Neil because he was very brave trying to rescue me.

"But I still can't sleep at night worrying about what would have happened if I'd been at home when the fire started."

A spokeswoman for Avon Fire and Rescue Service today confirmed the crystal ball was to blame for the fire.

She said: "The homeowner had a crystal ball on the window sill and direct sunlight refracted through it into her living room.

"It then set light to the television near the sofa and caused the fire we attended.

"We do have incidences of this nature but it's very uncommon for this to happen."

Source

I see your life really heating up in the near future.