A woman had a lucky escape after she put a chip pan on the stove and fell asleep.
Elaine Scotland had to be led to safety by neighbours after the pan set ablaze engulfing her home in choking smoke.
Neighbours dialled 999 while two women went into the house in Hopkinson Road, Sheepridge. One tackled the flames with a wet cloth while the other found Elaine at the foot of the stairs and helped her outside.
Elaine and one of her rescuers, 65-year-old Margaret Lees, were taken to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary as a precaution.
Watch commander Graham Calcraft, of Huddersfield Fire Station, said Elaine had had a “very lucky” escape.
He added: “If the women hadn’t heard the smoke detector and gone in when they did we could have been dealing with a fatal house fire.”
Margaret insisted she was no hero and said: “I am having no praise for it. I only did what anyone would have done. It was nothing spectacular.”
The drama happened at about 2pm yesterday. Fire crews from Huddersfield and Brighouse were called and dealt with the blaze which caused serious damage to the kitchen.
