Firefighters save life of house blaze girl

FIREFIGHTERS saved the life of a 17-year-old girl who was overcome by toxic fumes in a house fire in Hathershaw.

Officers from Oldham and Hollins had to resuscitate the girl several times and were forced to use a defibrillator when her heartbeat faltered following the fire at a terraced property in Forest Street.

It is not known what caused the blaze, which broke out in the kitchen at around 6pm on Saturday, but crew commanders said that the firefighters’ actions made the difference between life and death.

Watch Commander, Peter Shaw, said: “There’s no doubt that the actions of the firefighters saved her life. She was slipping in and out of consciousness while the ambulance was on its way, but luckily she was conscious again by the time it arrived.” Fire officers say that the blaze was contained in the kitchen, but that the house was clogged with toxic fumes and the girl was found unconscious in a bedroom.

No one else is thought to have been in the house at the time.

A quick-thinking neighbour also helped save the girl’s life by alerting the fire brigade as smoke poured through her bedroom window into the street.

Liam Jefferson (22), whose girl friend’s family live in the street, said: “I first noticed smoke coming out the bedroom window and went to look, but then I saw the girl freely walking towards the bedroom window and looking out.

“There was no panic on her face or anything. But the smoke quickly got darker and I started to worry, especially since there’s a family with children living next door to her, so I called the fire brigade.

“I didn’t realise how serious it was. I’m just really glad that I phoned them when I did. I’m glad she’s okay.”

The girl was taken to the Royal Oldham Hospital and later discharged.

Neighbours said different occupants had been coming and going since the house was put on the rental market a few years ago and they didn’t know the girl.

Residents also said that there had been some commotion at the house on the same day that the fire broke out. One resident said: “We were woken at 4am on Saturday by shouting and the sound of a window smashing, but there has never been any trouble there before.”