Smoke alarm saved life of house fire victim

The householder was rescued by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus after the blaze broke out in the early hours of Saturday morning at Erne Drive.

NI Fire and Rescue (NIFRS) was alerted to the blaze around 2am by the terrified woman who was trapped in an upstairs bedroom of the mid-terrace two-storey property.

NIFRS group commander William Johnston said control room staff continued providing safety advice and reassurance to the woman until the first firefighters arrived on the scene and were able to enter the smoke-filled house.

“The lady was trapped upstairs in her bedroom due to the smoke-logging of the premises.

“This may have been a small, smouldering fire, but it is the actual smoke that kills most people.

“Smoke is the biggest danger in fires because it renders people unconscious and ultimately they will lose their lives,” he said.

Fire crews from Enniskillen, Lisnaskea and Irvinestown were deployed to the incident.

“On arrival, the fire crews gained access to the premises using breathing apparatus and hose reel jets and dealt with a small fire in a ground floor living room area,” group commander Johnston said.

“The occupant was rescued from the property along with her pet dog and was then removed to hospital by ambulance personnel having suffered smoke inhalation.

“There was a small fire identified in the living room and the house was fully smoke-logged.

“It was determined that the fire was caused by smoking materials, and we would advise that all cigarettes and smoking materials are fully extinguished and removed outside to an appropriate receptacle.”

The fire chief said there were “two key elements” that contributed to the successful resolution of the incident.

“One was that the lady had a working smoke alarm, so she was alerted very early that there was a fire, and also that the internal doors of the property were closed so this helped restrict the spread of fire and the volume of smoke around the property.”

Group commander Johnston added: “I would like to commend the local fire crews for their professional actions and their speedy response, and also our control room personnel for reassuring the lady and providing life safety advice during the incident.”