Smoke alarms save man's life

Two fire appliances from Preston and one from Fulwood attended the house fire on Hesketh Road, Longridge.

The emergency call details indicated that an elderly man was trapped in his house on Hesketh Road, Longridge, with a bedroom full of smoke.

When firefighters got there, the man was outside the house safe.

He indicated the fire was out and no one else was in the house. His son was out at the time.

Firefighters then entered the bedroom to ensure the fire was out and ventilate the smoke with a ventilation fan.

Paramedics treated the casualty for minor smoke inhalation and he was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said: “The cause of the fire was a carelessly discarded cigarette within a rubbish bag.

“This ignited paper within it and spread to approximately one square metre of carpet.

“The elderly man was asleep in his bedroom and he was alerted to the fire by smoke alarms that had been fitted by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service previously.

“These alarms saved his life.

“The man, though, did fight the fire using water from the bathroom.

“We strongly advise the public not to do this.

“The advice is to have working smoke alarms, test them weekly, raise the alarm to all the family, get out quickly, call the fire service out and stay out. “We also strongly advise that the public do not smoke in bed and cigarettes are disposed of carefully by ensuring they are out.

“Placing them a non-combustible container.

“Do not empty ash trays into bags or bins. Stop smoke help and advice is available from the NHS website.”

The incident happened at around 8.45pm last night.