A mum whose prompt actions saved her baby son from a bedroom fire today warned of the crucial role fire alarms play in keeping families safe.

Sharon Lowe with 18-month-old son Jake, who she rescued from a fire at her home in Pocklington

Sharon Lowe, of Pinewood Road, Pocklington, spoke out as she counted the cost of fire damage to her home.

The blaze broke out in the bedroom of her 13-year-old son, Terry, while he was downstairs with the rest of the family.

But Sharon says the main thing is that her family are all safe.

"We were sitting downstairs when we smelled smoke about 9.30 last night," said Sharon.

"We keep the sitting room door open so we can hear the baby.

"It was lucky that we did because it gave us an early warning of the fire upstairs.

"As soon as we smelled the smoke we rushed upstairs to grab Jake from his cot, switched the gas and electricity off and then we left the house and called the fire brigade.

"It was a very frightening experience, we didn't dare open the door of Terry's bedroom because we had no idea what was going to be behind it - but the fire brigade said we had done the right thing."

Humberside fire brigade found the fire had already burnt itself out.

They ensured it had completely gone out and then told the family it was safe for them to switch the gas and electric supplies back on.

They also called the ambulance service and eight-month-old Jake and his mum were taken to York District Hospital for a check-up but were both released an hour later.

"We're doing a lot of work to the house at the moment and we have bought smoke alarms," said Sharon.

"But we had not yet put them up - it's just luck the fire didn't start when we were in our beds.

"I certainly didn't realise how vital they could be and we will certainly be putting them up as soon as possible now."

The fire destroyed Terry's mattress and bed, burned the bedroom carpet and also wrecked his schoolbooks, schoolbag and coat.

A Humberside fire service spokesman said today he could not stress enough the vital life-saving qualities of smoke detectors Station Officer Steve Henry said the service had now changed the way it recorded call-outs to ensure they knew if a smoke alarm had been fitted and if it was working correctly. The cause of the blaze was being investigated today.

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