Mother and baby 'lucky to be alive' say firefighters after Preston home goes up in flames

A mother and baby are lucky to be alive after their home in Penwortham went up in flames.
The aftermath of the fire in the end terrace on Margaret RoadThe aftermath of the fire in the end terrace on Margaret Road
The aftermath of the fire in the end terrace on Margaret Road

But the house itself was wracked by the fire and firefighters say the young family have lost most of their possessions.

Although the terrace in Margaret Road was fixed with a smoke alarm, the woman smelt the fire before it went off and escaped the building with her daughter.

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Crew manager at Penwortham Fire Station Scott Harris said: “It was lucky they got out when they did because the fire escalated quite quickly.

A firefighter at the sceneA firefighter at the scene
A firefighter at the scene

“They did have smoke alarms which activated but the occupier smelt the smoke beforehand and she was alerted faster.

“It was a shock. The daughter seemed fine. She was an infant. They went to hospital for precautionary checks. They are going to be fine.

“The house on the other hand is not in the best shape at the moment just because of the amount of smoke and heat damage. They have pretty much lost all of their possessions.

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“When we turned up it was quite a well established fire. The front door had failed already and one of the upstairs windows had failed due to heat.”

The blaze took hold of the ground floor entrance hall and first floor at around 3pm today.

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Three fire engines from Penwortham, Preston and Bamber Bridge were called to the scene.

Firefighters were on the scene for four hours and used one hose reel and two ventilation units to extinguish the fire.

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Crew manager Scott Harris added: “The cause of the fire is under investigation but it is believed to be accidental. We think it started in the entrance to the property.”

He urged residents to ensure that they test their smoke alarms in their homes regularly.

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