A FAMILY fled a fierce blaze at their home today.
A candle sparked the fire at a house in Thornton Lodge Road, Thornton Lodge.
The candle set fire to a bedroom in which four teenage girls were sleeping at 12.40am.
Station Officer Paul Mace, of Huddersfield fire station, said the girls only woke up when the fire had spread to a bed one of them was in.
He added: "They opened the door to flee to safety. The smoke then set off a detector on the landing which alerted their brother, who was in an attic bedroom.
"He managed to get out, but if there had been no smoke alarm vital seconds would have been lost and he would not have escaped."
The family's mother was sleeping downstairs and she also escaped unscathed.
Smoke detectors were put in the home after a fatal blaze at a nearby house in August, 2001.
Station Officer Mace, who had investigated the first fire, said: "The homes are identical and the fires were very similar.
"The entire upstairs was badly damaged by fire and the attic was badly damaged by heat and smoke."
* Anyone wanting a free home fire safety check should phone Huddersfield fire station on 01484 532223.
