A FAMILY had to flee their home when a blaze broke out in a upstairs bedroom.

A man and his two children, aged five and three, were downstairs in the mid-terraced property, in St James’ Road, Blackburn, when their fire alarm went off.

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Firefighters said they had a lucky escape as they had only recently fitted the detector.

Shazad Khan, who also lives in the property, in the Bastwell area of the town, said they were all ‘shell-shocked’.

He said: “We are all fine, but we are in a bit of shock.

“We have no idea how the fire happened, I just got a phone call to say what was going on.

“The kids were in with their father when they heard the smoke alarm going off.

“We are really upset, but the main thing is that everybody is all right.”

The fire started around 6pm on Saturday in a back bedroom of the house. The road had to be closed off at its junction with Whalley Road by police to allow crews to extinguish the blaze.

Firefighters said the room was very badly damaged by the blaze. They had to pull out carpets and doorframes to make sure there were no flames behind them.

Mr Khan thanked the crews for their efforts.

He said: “We would like to say thank you to all the firefighters.

“When we get the house done up, I would like to invite them all round for a curry.”

Watch manager Nick Ingham added: “We were informed there were people inside the house when the call came in.

“On arrival, two crews wearing breathing apparatus entered the premises and went upstairs where the fire was.

“They searched and it was confirmed there were no children inside.

“We put the fire out and we are doing an investigation to determine how it started. We are not sure at this stage.

“Fortunately, there were smoke detectors that Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service had fitted which alerted the occupants to the fire and they left.”