999 call serves as warning to check smoke alarms
The call was made by a County Durham mam who was trapped in a burning house with two others, including her two-year-old son.
A shocking 999 call should encourage people to check their smoke alarms and make sure they are ready for a fire emergency.
That's the message from County Durham and Darlington Fire Service.
It's after they received a call from County Durham mam Siobhan Stephenson in the early hours of Sunday 15th May.
She was trapped on the first floor of her Bishop Auckland home with Tom Elder and her two-year-old son Frankie, after a fire broke out in the living room of the ground floor.
The family were alerted by smoke alarms and tried to escape from a back bedroom before barricading themselves into the front bedroom.
Control operator Gemma Woodhouse kept Siobhan calm and provided vital survival advice over the phone.
Firefighters arrived within six minutes and helped Siobhan and Tom escape from the first floor.
Tom had collapsed from smoke inhalation and was carreid down a ladder by crew manager David Welsh - he made a full recovery.
Two year-old Frankie had been passed down to a neighbour before crews arrived.
Area Manager Keith Wanley said: "A lot of people don't think about the dangers of fire until it happens and I hope hearing the recording will raise the profile, so people make sure they understand the importance of having working smoke alarms and test them regularly.
"Gemma was superb, she was very professional in the advice that she gave.
"She stayed very calm and was reassuring and there's no doubt that the advice that she gave them on that evening saved their lives."
Colleagues and family members gathered at CDDFRS headquarters to congratulate Bishop Auckland’s blue watch and control operator Gemma Woodhouse during a presentation of certificates by CFO Stuart Errington.