St Helens mum thanks firefighters who rescued her family

Emergency crews were called to Helen Jackson’s property on Truro Close, Laffak, at about 1.40am after a malfunctioning microwave resulted in a kitchen fire.

After arriving at the scene, fire crews used a ladder to rescue Helen and her three children from the rear bedroom window, before extinguishing the fire with a hose reel jet.

Helen, a mail order worker, wished to thank “each and every one” of the firefighters that were “absolutely brilliant” in saving the family and preventing a much worse situation.

After going to bed as normal on Thursday night, Helen explained that she awoke to the unusual sound of her smoke alarm from downstairs.

“I could just hear this noise, it was like I was dreaming. I didn’t realise at first it was the smoke alarm.

“When I did, I just jumped out of bed and as soon as I opened the bedroom door, there was just smoke there.”

Rushing downstairs to find the front door keys, panic set in as Helen “couldn’t see a thing”.

Luckily everyone escaped unscathed from the property on Truro Close

 

Realising the family could not escape, the quick decision was made to open all the upstairs windows and usher everyone into the back bedroom.

With her husband on a night-shift at work, it was a terrifying experience for Helen and her three children – aged 15, 13, and 10 – who anxiously waited for their rescue.

Helen explained: “I was terrified. I think I was worse than the kids because they were calmer than me. It was really scary. I just wanted to make sure [the kids] got out.”

As the family waited for what “felt like forever” for the fire brigade to arrive, a Fire Control Operator remained on the phone to Helen to offer fire survival guidance and reassurance that help was on the way.

Helen was advised to put any available covers under the door, which prevented the smoke from entering the bedroom.

With the assistance of the firefighters, all members of the family were luckily able to escape unscathed.

Unfortunately, however, there has been significant damage caused to the home, including serious smoke damage to the downstairs ceilings and walls, cracked windows and a broken front door.

The kitchen, where the fire originated, needs “completely ripping out”, and many documents including their passports have been destroyed.

Firefighters were called to a property on Truro Close around 1.40am

Station Manager Wayne Woods said: “Whilst the actions of firefighters and Fire Control ultimately saved this family, the presence of working smoke alarms in the property was instrumental.

"Had they not given the family early warning to the fire, this incident could have had a very different ending.

“Smoke alarms save lives but they cannot do that if they are not working or not there in the first place.

“We would urge residents across Merseyside to treat this fire as a cautionary tale and to ensure they have at least one working smoke alarm on each level of their home.

"Consider installing additional smoke alarms in rooms with electrical items or sleeping areas – make sure to test your smoke alarms weekly.”