A homeowner was injured after trying to extinguish a fire which broke out in an airing cupboard.

The family from Grove were alerted by their smoke alarm and the parents were able to evacuate their children to safety.

The resident had attempted to extinguish the fire himself and Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said that by his prompt and decisive action he managed to minimise the spread of the fire, whilst sustaining some injuries to himself.

The alarm was raised just after 4.45pm on Sunday and crews from Didcot Fire Station and Abingdon Fire Station wearing breathing apparatus entered the building and resolved the incident quickly.

Incident commander Jon Walker said, “We do not advocate self intervention in a fire situation, however on this occasion the brave actions of the occupier prevented a far more significant incident developing”.

He also issued a warning to homeowners.

“The family were lucky in the respect that they had working smoke alarms in their property, which gave an early warning of the fire. We cannot stress the importance of working smoke alarms highly enough.”

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