Firefighters say having a working smoke alarm saved the lives of two people after fire ripped through a house on Corkran Road in Surbiton during the early hours of this morning.
The blaze left half the detached property’s ground floor damaged and gutted its first floor and roof. Two people managed to escape before the Brigade arrived. One of them - a woman was taken to hospital suffering from a leg injury.
Group Manager Dave O’Neill who was at the scene said: “Smoke alarms undoubtedly saved the lives of the two people who were inside at the time. A woman staying there was awoken by the alarm going off and found patches of fire on the carpet and left the house with another resident.
“When crews arrived, most of the first floor and roof was already well alight and firefighters had to force their way through an electric gate using cutting equipment before they could tackle the blaze. An aerial ladder platform was also used to tackle the fire from above. Crews worked alongside Surrey fire and rescue service; the cross border working arrangements are well practised and worked smoothly.
“I can’t stress how important smoke alarms are. You should have them on every floor of your home and you should test them regularly. If this house didn’t have a working smoke alarm, the story could have had a very different ending."
The Brigade was called at 0226 and the fire was under control by 0732. Nine fire engines and 66 firefighters and officers attended the incident.
Crews from Surbiton, New Malden, Kingston, Twickenham, Wimbledon, Sutton, Richmond and Heston fire stations were at the scene, along with one crew from Esher in Surrey
The cause of the fire is under investigation.