A HOUSE in Ely was badly damaged in a fire started by a kettle on Tuesday night.

Firefighters from Ely and Littleport were called to a house in Allen Road at about 9pm.

A man had been cooking on the hob in the kitchen when a kettle which was close to the hob caught alight.

The fire spread quickly to the extractor fan, then to the extractor hose and finally to the joists between the ceiling of the kitchen and the floorboards of the room above.

The man left the house immediately and dialled 999.

Firefighters arrived and entered the home wearing breathing apparatus. They used two hose reels to extinguish the main fire and then cut through the ceiling to extinguish the fire in the joists.

Crews returned to their fire stations by 11.30pm.

Karl Bowden, station commander for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “This was quite a complicated incident as the fire had travelled to the joists between the ground and the first floor. Therefore, a significant amount of cutting away was required to ensure that we had extinguished all of the fire and that there were no hotspots remaining.

“We would advise people to keep flammable items well away from the hob area.”