Glass and crystal objects caused over 100 fires in London in the last five years, figures released by London Fire Brigade (LFB) have revealed.
The Brigade has issued a warning to householders across the capital following a devastating fire in Twickenham earlier this month in which a pet dog was killed.
The blaze, which started when a Nutella jar on a window sill magnified the sun's rays and sparked the fire, tore through Declan Murphy's Twickenham home on February 15.
Thankfully, Mr Murphy and his family were out at the time of the blaze and no one was hurt but pet dog Chili, a nine-year-old Jack russell was tragically killed by smoke inhalation.
Now, LFB has issued a warning to residents across London to remind people that this type of fire is not as rare as many believe.
In fact, there were 125 blazes started in a similar way - by glass or crystal objects left in sunlight - across the capital in the last five years.
Charlie Pugsley from the Brigade’s fire investigation unit said: “These sort of fires are not as rare as you would think. I’ve seen everything from sparkly door knobs to crystal balls starting fires.
"It is not an urban myth. These things do happen. They also happen at different times of year.
"In the Nutella case, it was caused by low winter sun."
In Clapham, last July, a fire started after the sun's rays refracted through a crystal door knob and onto a dressing gown hanging from the door. And earlier in the year, in Romford, a crystal ball set light to curtains.
In summer 2013, firefighters tackled a fire in Enfield caused by a vanity mirror which also set fire to curtains.
LFB advised homeowners to keep mirrors and crystal or glass objects away from sunny window sills and urged people to ensure smoke alarms are fitted - and working - on each floor.
