Firefighters and police save woman (60) from house blaze in Coleraine

A 60-YEAR-OLD woman was rescued by firefighters after a blaze broke out in her home in Coleraine.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) received a call to the property in the Queens Park area on Tuesday night.

Firefighters from Coleraine and Portrush entered the house using breathing apparatus and extinguished a fire in the kitchen.

The woman and a male occupant were treated with oxygen at the scene of the blaze.

Two PSNI officers were treated for the effects of smoke inhalation.

There were no life-threatening injuries and the fire is not being treated as suspicious.

PSNI Chief Inspector Mark McClarence said officers were confronted by thick smoke on arrival.

He explained that the woman was led to safety using ladders via an upstairs window.

“Upon arrival, four police officers entered the house, where a man in the hallway alerted them to a woman who was trapped in an upstairs room,” he said.

“Two officers attempted to make their way to the woman upstairs, but were unable to due to dense smoke. One of the officers, however, managed to awaken a neighbour and borrow a set of ladders while the other three police officers attempted to extinguish the blaze.

“Officers, along with the NIFRS, were subsequently able to guide the woman to safety, using the ladders, via an upstairs window.”

Firefighters extinguished the fire and both the man and woman in the house were taken to hospital by ambulance for treatment for the effects of smoke inhalation.

“The officers who entered the house were also treated as a precaution.

“While this fire was a traumatic and frightening incident for the occupants of the house, fortunately the woman was able to get out of the house safely.”

A spokesperson for the NIFRS said they received a call to the fire at 11.44pm on Tuesday.

“Firefighters from Coleraine and Portrush entered the property using breathing apparatus and extinguished a fire in the kitchen with a hose reel jet,” she said.

“Thankfully, on this occasion the swift response from firefighters has prevented any serious injury or loss of life.”