St Helens family rescued from house fire

Four people have been rescued from a house fire in St Helens in the early hours of this morning.

Fire crews were called to a property on Truro Close shortly before 1.45am, and three engines were sent to the scene.

When they got there, crews found a fire in the kitchen of the property and quickly used a ladder to rescue four people from the rear bedroom window.

They then entered the property and used a hose reel jet to extinguish the fire.

All four people were assessed at the scene by the North West Ambulance Service but didn't need hospital treatment.

Station Manager Wayne Woods said:

"Crews acted quickly to not only extinguish the fire but to also rescue four people who were still inside and unable to leave by themselves. Prior to our arrival, the family had been kept reassured during those first few minutes by our Fire Control Operators. They offered fire survival guidance and reassurance that help was indeed on the way. Once firefighters were in attendance, they were able to quickly locate the family thanks to the information provided by Fire Control and ensure they were brought to safety unharmed.

"Whilst the actions of firefighters and Fire Control ultimately saved this family, the presence of working smoke alarms in the property was instrumental. Had they not given the family early warning to the fire, this incident could have had a very different ending.

"Smoke alarms save lives but they cannot do that if they are not working or not there in the first place. We would urge residents across Merseyside to treat this fire as a cautionary tale and to ensure they have at least one working smoke alarm on each level of their home. Consider installing additional smoke alarms in rooms with electrical items or sleeping areas - make sure to test your smoke alarms weekly."

An investigation into the cause of the fire has been carried out and determined that it started accidentally as a result of an electrical fault.

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