A Rochdale homeowner whose house was engulfed in flames when his clothes fell into a heater was saved by his son after his smoke alarm failed to work.
The 54-year-old man who was asleep at his house on Pullman Street, Deepish, was unaware that his bedroom was filling with smoke. The smoke alarm in the hallway did not sound as it had no batteries in it.
It was then at around 3.50am that his 16-year-old son woke up, smelled the smoke and rushed to wake his father and 20-year-old brother.
The brothers picked up the man but fell halfway down the stairs as the smoke was so thick. When firefighting crews arrived the family were outside. Firefighters then extinguished the flames.
Another firefighter dealt with the father outside until the ambulance arrived, as he suffered burns to his arms and face.
Crew Manager Carl Bostock said: “There was thick smoke at the top of the house and once firefighters had put the fire out they spent around half an hour getting rid of the smoke and checking every room in the house to make sure everyone was out and safe.
“The man and his two sons had a lucky escape – but they could have had an earlier warning if their smoke alarm was working, so I would encourage everyone to go and check their own smoke alarm and make sure it works.”
Fire services around the UK have a social media campaign every Tuesday to encourage people to check they have working smoke alarms – you can find out more by looking for the hashtag #testittuesday.
For fire safety advice, visit www.manchesterfire.gov.uk
Image courtesy of Mark Bridge via Flickr, with thanks.
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