East Preston teens and cats rescued from blaze

The four-legged feline was one of two rescued from a home in Mill Pond Way, along with three teenagers, after the home’s alarm was raised by a working smoke detector.

Firefighters were called to the terraced house in the street, at 2.28pm yesterday afternoon after an electrical fire was sparked by a dishwasher.

Smoke from the dishwasher quickly spread through the kitchen door but thanks to the early warning given by the smoke alarm, the two brothers and their friend, who were upstairs when the fire started, were able to escape safely from the property and call 999.

Two fire crews from Littlehampton and Worthing were immediately dispatched to the scene.

On arrival firefighters discovered that two of the family’s cats were still in the property so a team wearing breathing apparatus entered the smoke logged house to rescue the animals.

One of the rescued cats was given oxygen therapy by firefighters before both animals being taken to the vets.

The young occupiers were uninjured.

Incident Commander Neal Temperley from Littlehampton Fire Station, said: “Once again, this incident highlights the value of having working smoke detectors in your home. The early warning from the smoke alarm has saved the occupiers and their pets from serious injury.

“Dishwashers, washing machines and tumble dryers often contain powerful motors with fast moving parts so can get very hot. We would advise people to carry out regular visual checks for any worn wiring and keep their appliances regularly maintained.”

The fire was extinguished using two hose reels and a covering jet and the house was ventilated using a positive pressure ventilation fan.

The kitchen was extensively damaged by fire; and the remainder of the house was damaged by smoke.

Advice and support for the occupiers was provided at the scene by Red Cross Fire and Emergency Support Service volunteers.

For further electrical and home fire safety advice visit the fire service’s website, here.