Five people including two children have been rescued from a burning flat in Islington this morning. Using a ladder, the two children along with one woman were rescued from the third floor by firefighters; the two other adults escaped via a staircase.
The fire is believed to have started at around 5am and everyone was taken to hospital as a precaution. According to a statement by the London Fire Brigade, it took 35 firefighters two hours to bring the blaze, which “completely” destroyed the flat.
Firefighters rescue 5 people from #Islington flat fire this morning. More here: https://t.co/vod1CwdinA pic.twitter.com/v0vP25IMy4
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) July 16, 2016
Highlighting the importance of the smoke alarm, station manager Jerome Kumedzina said: “Thankfully a smoke alarm sounded alerting a woman to a fire in her flat so she had an early warning and was able to call the Brigade. This fire broke out early in the morning, without the alarm the fire could have easily spread undetected.”
“There is no doubt that without the vital combination of the smoke alarm and the quick work of firefighters this story could have had a very different ending.”
Calling for every home to have at least one smoke alarm, Kumedzina went on to say: “Everyone should have at least one smoke alarm on every level of your home and the safest option is have those linked together. This will give the earliest warning if there is a fire in your home."
