Firefighters have rescued a woman trapped in her flat when a blaze broke.
The elderly resident was alerted by a smoke alarm at her home near Lichfield at 1am on Saturday morning (February 15).
But she was unable to escape from the ground floor apartment at Targate Court, Armitage, because she couldn’t find her keys.
However, a member of the 999 control room team told her over the phone to go to her bedroom, shut the door and wedge clothes tightly up against it. She was also advised to open the window and allow fresh air into the room.
Fire crews then forced their way in and led the woman to safety.
Station manager Dermot Hogan said: “This was an extremely lucky escape and if it were not for the fact that the lady had a working smoke alarm and was given fire survival advice by the control room operator, the outcome could have been very different.
“This incident proves without a shadow of a doubt that it is absolutely vital to have smoke detectors fitted and to ensure that they are active by checking them on a regular basis – they could end up saving your life.
“It is also very important to know exactly where your keys are when you go to bed so that you can make a quick escape if an emergency occurs.”
The cause of the blaze is believed to have been an electrical fault in the fuse box.
