Woman pulled from fire after falling asleep while cooking

Firefighters from Great Holm, Bletchley and Broughton were called to the ground-floor flat in Pitcher Lane, Loughton, at about 6am yesterday morning.

A neighbour in the flat above rang 999 after hearing a smoke alarm.

Station Commander Graham Freer said: “Smoke was spreading through the flat as the food had started to burn in the oven.

“Crews carried her to safety after finding her asleep on a sofa in the lounge, and gave her oxygen before handing her into the care of paramedics.

“The incident highlights the importance of having working smoke alarms, and of taking care when you are cooking, as more than half of all accidental fires in people’s homes start in the kitchen.”

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus put out the fire with a hose reel and ventilated the flat with a fan. They fitted an extra smoke alarm and a heat detector before leaving.