House fire ravages home

A Dales man had a lucky escape after a house fire ravaged his home – leaving it gutted.

Fire crews from Matlock and Belper were called to the blaze in Water Lane, Middleton–by–Wirksworth, on Thursday at 3.37pm.

Neighbour Emma Smith, whose home adjoins the property, which is believed to be owned by Steve Phillips, said she saw smoke and initially thought it was from her neighbours fireplace, however a fellow neighbour then alerted her to the fact that the house next door was on fire.

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“I came out and all the windows were black, so I called the fire brigade,” she said.

“There was lots of smoke and when the windows finally broke there were flames.

“I’m just glad I was at home because I would have come home to no house.”

Emma said the firefighters told her that if she had called them 20 minutes later she would have lost her home.

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The crews used breathing apparatus, one hose reel jet and one main jet to extinguish the blaze, which was out by about 6pm.

They then remained behind until 10pm to ensure the fire was completely out.

Mr Smith was taken to hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.

His uncle, Geoffrey Phillips, who owns the adjoining house, said he had been kept in hospital overnight.

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He said that when he had seen his nephew on the night of the fire, his face was black from the fire.

The majority of the damage was contained within the living room of the property.

The cause of the fire is currently being investigated.