Working smoke alarms save family of three's lives

Firefighters are highlighting the importance of working smoke alarms after a family of three was rescued during a house fire in Leigh this morning. 

The family and neighbours were woken up by smoke alarms going off in the early hours of this morning. 

Firefighters were called to Marine Parade, Leigh at 2:33am to reports of a house fire and three people trapped inside the home.

On arrival, crews reported that the ground floor of a house was on fire with the first floor heavily smoke logged. 

The resident and a neighbour had been able to rescue a child before our arrival. 

A man and a child were rescued by firefighters through a window on the first floor. 

All three casualties were left in the care of the Ambulance Service.

Two dogs were also rescued.

Crews wearing Breathing Apparatus entered the home and extinguished the fire. 

The ground floor of the house was badly fire damaged with smoke damage to the rest of the house. 

Firefighters believe the fire was caused by an electrical fault in the fuse board.

Station Manager Russ Freeman said: “This incident shows how important it is to have working smoke alarms at home. Both the residents and neighbours were woken up by working smoke alarms to a fire downstairs. This early warning gave the resident time to get his children to a place of safety where they were rescued by a brave neighbour and firefighters.

"We also rescued two dogs at the scene and the dogs, although frightened, had been protected from any smoke inhalation as they were sleeping downstairs in the kitchen and the door was shut. Shutting doors can really help minimise the spread of smoke during house fires. If you can make a habit of closing internal doors before you go to bed and when you leave the house, this can massively reduce smoke damage to your property if there was a fire. 

“As always, our advice is to make sure you have a working smoke alarm on every level of your home. They really do save lives, as proved today. If you or someone you know doesn’t have working smoke alarms at homes, we can fit them for free. Please get in touch with our team at essex-fire.gov.uk/book or by calling 0300 303 0088.”