A BLAZE broke out in the home of the man responsible for fire safety in West Yorkshire.

Clr David Ridgway’s Linthwaite house was damaged following an electrical fault in his washing machine.

The chairman of West Yorkshire Fire Authority warned yesterday: “It can happen to anyone at any time.”

Clr Ridgway’s wife Karen, 56, raised the alarm after smelling burning plastic at their home on Causeway Side.

He said: “She went down to the cellar to investigate and found it was full of smoke. She could see flames in the washing machine.

“She turned the washing machine off at the plug and closed the door. Then she dialled 999.”

Clr Ridgway, who was at a meeting in Lindley at the time of the incident, praised firefighters for preventing the flames from spreading.

“They got there very quickly and put out the fire, but unfortunately all the wiring was destroyed,” he said.

Clr Ridgway, 65, arrived at the house around 7pm on Thursday – about an hour after the fire broke out.

He said: “I greeted the fire officers by saying ‘I hope you boys aren’t treating this as a training exercise just because it’s me’, which caused a great deal of mirth.”

Clr Ridgway is philosophical about the damage to his home.

“I felt relief that the boys had turned up and put out the fire and that the house was secure and wasn’t going to burn down,” he said.

“Once you get to the stage of not being able to do anything about the situation then there’s no point shouting and screaming.”

Clr Ridgway was dealing with the damage to his house yesterday morning.

The Colne Valley Lib Dem said: “The house still smells of burnt plastic. It will take three days before we get the wiring fixed and the electricity can be restored.

“It really is a pain in the backside but you just have to get on with it.”

But Clr Ridgway said the damage could have been much worse if the house had been empty when the fire broke out.

“We could have lost the house if my wife hadn’t been home,” he said.

“People do put on their washing machines and then go to the pub. They come back to find their house has been burnt down.

“I would advise people not to leave their home after they put their washing machine or dishwasher on.”