FAMILIES in Chester homes were saved from deadly fires thanks to Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service’s home safety assessment initative.

An Upton Park family were saved thanks to the free smoke alarms and advice from Cheshrie Fire and Rescue Service after a faulty fridge freezer caught fire, wrecking the kitchen on Saturday morning.

“Because of the home safety assessment they got in to the habit of shutting the doors which isolated the fire in the room of origin and prevented any injuries,” an officer at the scene said.

“The home assessment saved their lives,”

A second house fire on Sunday morning saw a mother and her five-year-old daughter have a lucky escape from their Hoole home after a fire from a storage heater tore through their first-floor flat.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to Gosforth Place, Chester, off Hoole Road, at about 4.40am on Sunday morning to find extensive smoke and fire damage to the building.

“The occupants were woken by their smoke detector and found the hall way smoke logged,” said a fire officer.

“The mother rescued her daughter from the bedroom and they found their way outside to safety.

“There were no injuries, they were lucky people.

“If this flat was not fitted with smoke detectors we would almost certainly have been dealing with serious injuries and maybe worse.”

Since 2006 when Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service increased the delivery of their home safety assessments they have seen a 23% reduction in the number of house fires and a 75% reduction in the number of injuries caused by fire in the home.

Evan Morris, head of community safety for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “I would urge anyone who has not had one to get in touch with us and book one.

“In the past two years alone Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service has visited more than 120,000 homes and carried out these potentially life saving visits.

To arrange a home safety assessment call 0800 389 0053 or visit www.cheshirefire.gov.uk/publicsafety.

You can now also book a free home safety assessment by texting HSA and your name and address to 07624 808 300.