Dogs and gerbils rescued from house fire in Market Drayton
Three dogs and two gerbils were rescued by firefighters after a kitchen fire broke out at a house in Market Drayton.
A total of three fire engines were sent from Hodnet, Market Drayton and Prees to the kitchen fire at a property in Bartons Lane, Market Drayton at about 7.45pm on Thursday night.
Fire officials said the incident shows the importance of having a smoke alarm, as this is what alerted a neighbour to the fire.
Firefighters spent three hours tackling the fire and no people were found trapped inside the house.
A spokesman for Market Drayton Fire Station said: "On arrival at the address a smoke alarm could be heard to be operating from within, and smoke could be seen through the letter box.
"Initially it could not be ascertained if anyone was inside the property, so the incident commander made the incident "persons reported", indicating that there may be people trapped inside.
"A third fire appliance from Prees was mobilised to the incident by fire control in Shrewsbury, along with resources from West Midlands Ambulance Service and West Mercia Police.
"Crews forced entry into the property and were confronted with heavy smoke logging, six firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were committed into the property to search for any casualties and extinguish the fire.
"A rapid search of the property was carried out by the breathing apparatus teams, and we are pleased to report that there were no persons were found to be trapped inside.
"Crews rescued three dogs and two gerbils from inside the property. We are glad to say that they all appear not to have suffered any ill effects from the smoke.
"The fire was confined to the kitchen area, however the rest of the property was affected by smoke damage. The cause of the fire is accidental and there are no suspicious circumstances.
"Crews used six breathing apparatus, two hose reel jets, one main jet and a positive pressure fan to deal with the incident, and were on scene for approximately three hours.
"We would like to stress the importance of having at least one working smoke alarm, on each floor of your property as this is what alerted a neighbour to this fire."
Crews left the scene at about 8.20pm.
