AN ELDERLY Ardeer woman escaped a home fire thanks to her alert neighbours on Saturday 26 October.
The 90-year-old lady was unaware of the fire burning inside her McLaughlin St house when neighbours knocked at the door and shouted for her to leave.
According to the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB), within minutes of being helped outside, the senior citizen’s house “was full of smoke making any escape at that time almost impossible”.
The blaze has started in her bathroom area and although the home’s smoke alarm was working, the device was located at the other end of the house and a closed door prevented it sensing the smoke.
“Though otherwise unharmed, the elderly resident suffered considerable shock from her ordeal and was treated at the scene by ambulance paramedics,” the MFB statement said.
“The fire took just over half an hour to bring under control and resulted in a repair bill estimated at $40,000.”
Eighteen firefighters attended the incident. The cause was found to be an electrical fault in a ceiling fan.
