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.

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

The fire started around 6pm on Saturday in a back bedroom of the house. The road had to be closed off at its juntion 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.

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.”