Quick-thinking staff prevented a bedroom fire from spreading at a Huddersfield care home.
It broke out about7pm on Sunday, when two care workers were alerted to the blaze by the fire alarm in a first floor bedroom at Ashleigh Care Home, Stile Common Road, Newsome.
Natalie Hill and Linda Harling rushed upstairs to see an elderly male resident walking away from the room and quickly swung into action.
They grabbed a fire extinguisher and dashed inside the smoke-filled room to tackle the blaze, after first altering the fire brigade.
The curtains were on fire and thick smoke forced the women to leave the room.
Realising they couldn’t put out the fire, they stopped the smoke spreading to the rest of the floor by pushing wet clothing against the bottom of the closed bedroom door.
Now their prompt actions have been praised by Huddersfield’s Watch Commander Chris Bell, who said: “They did everything right.
“They evacuated everybody from the area and only tackled the fire when it was safe to do so, making sure their exit route was clear.
“They tried to put out the fire, but when they realised they couldn’t they went the extra mile by stopping the smoke spreading using wet clothing around the door .
“When we arrived, the corridor was clear, although the bedroom was filled with smoke. They did a cracking job.”
Two firefighters using breathing apparatus and a high pressure fan tackled the blaze, which was limited to the bedroom.
The Huddersfield fire crew remained at the scene for around two and a half hours.
The elderly male resident had already left the room and other residents were evacuated to safe areas. Nobody was injured.
Meanwhile an alert fire officer prevented a potential disaster in a separate incident at Fartown in the early hours of Monday morning.
Huddersfield Fire Brigade was called out to Corby Street at 2.10am after a carelessly discarded mattress and other household rubbish had been set alight in a back lane.
After the fire had been extinguished, Crew Commander Matt Green heard a hissing sound.
On further investigation it emerged that the fire had burned through a gas pipe, causing it to leak and Transco were called to make the pipe safe.
Watch Commander Bell has warned of the dangers of leaving rubbish in the open and advised residents to contact the council or use the tip to dispose of large household items.
