Dame Joan Collins ‘lucky to be alive’ following fire at her London flat

Dame Joan Collins said she is “lucky to be alive” after she was forced to flee a fire at her London home. The veteran actress was at the Belgravia property with husband Percy Gibson when a blaze broke out inside an en-suite bathroom. Both made it out uninjured after Mr Gibson tackled the flames with a fire extinguisher before the emergency services arrived. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Dame Joan, 85, said her husband is a “hero” for his actions. She told the newspaper: “The thing is, if Percy hadn’t gone in with the extinguisher the entire flat would have been consumed by flames. “What he did, in fact, was save the whole building. Percy’s a hero. I know a lot of guys who wouldn’t have gone in. He made a great sacrifice. “And we’re lucky to be alive. I keep thinking: ‘What if we’d been asleep and hadn’t heard the alarm? What if we’d gone to a movie?’.” The April 13 fire was started by sunlight striking a shaving mirror and reflecting onto a blind, firefighters said. Firefighters have warned other people to beware of the intense sun to avoid suffering a similar incident. Dame Joan has enjoyed a lengthy and successful career, making her Hollywood debut in the 1950s. She is perhaps best known for playing vengeful ex-wife Alexis Carrington in US soap opera Dynasty.