A FAMILY had a lucky escape after fire gutted their Huddersfield home.
But the family cat and one of her kittens perished in the blaze in Portland Street.
Watch commander Chris Johnson from Huddersfield fire station said the family, a mother, father and two girls, aged 12 and six, were lucky to have survived the blaze which started in a wood-burning stove in the living room of the terraced house and quickly spread.
They were only awoken shortly before 3am on Tuesday morning by the cries of the family cat which perished in the fire alongside one of her kittens.
But one kitten survived after being found by firefighters hiding behind a sofa and being revived by oxygen.
The house, which was badly damaged by the fire, was not fitted with smoke alarms.
Mr Johnson reminded people that firefighters could carry out free home fire safety checks and fit free smoke alarms.
“This family is extremely lucky to be alive today due to the severity of the fire and them having no smoke detectors.
“They are devastated by the loss of the family pets. I would urge everyone to take advantage of our free home fire safety check and smoke alarms as soon as possible,” he said.
Crews from Huddersfield spent several hours at the house and the Red Cross Victim Support Unit was also called in to provide emergency shelter for the family as their house was uninhabitable.
People should ring 0800 5874536 for the free home safety check.
