Clothing placed on top of a water heater caused a Sandys home to go up in flames last night.

Fire crews were called to the property on Beacon Hill Lane at around 6.15pm after smoke was seen pouring from several windows.

Although four firefighters were able to get the flames under control within a matter of minutes, the property was severely damaged in the blaze.

A Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “Firefighters then proceeded to ventilate the premises and conduct an internal search. The internal search discovered severe heat and smoke damage to the structure.

“A fire investigator was called to the scene to help determine the cause of the fire, which was determined to have started by a water heater igniting clothing which was placed on top of it.”