Working smoke alarms do save lives!
Firefighters say a Rugby resident is lucky to be alive after neighbour raised the alarm to fire in a home on Bilton Road, Rugby.
Warwickshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service were called to the incident on Tuesday 27 April at 22:48.
On arrival fire crews entered the property through a first floor window and searched the house for the occupant. The resident was found asleep on the sofa, generally safe and well, although she did suffer from smoke inhalation.
Station Manager, Mick Leach said:
“This is a real example of where working smoke alarms do save lives! Although the resident did not hear the alarm, her neighbour did and so was able to call the fire service.
“I would say that it is unusual not to hear the smoke alarm, but the woman had just returned back from holiday after a long haul flight and so simply slept through the noise. If it wasn’t for the quick actions of the neighbour, then we could have been looking at a very different story today. We would like to commend her actions. Her quick thinking has literally saved someone’s life!"
The fire was started by cooking being left unattended and whilst this story does have a happy ending, cooking left unattended can be disastrous.
Fire crews were able to contain the fire with just minimal damage to the kitchen and smoke damage throughout the house.
For further information on how to stay safe in your home, log onto http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/fireandrescue