Couple have lucky escape from Burmantofts house fire

The couple managed to get themselves out via a first floor window uninjured, but firefighters said the blaze could have been far more serious because the property, in Burmantofts, was not fitted with smoke detectors.

Firefighters from Gipton were called to the terraced house on Sutherland Terrace at around 1.40am.

Watch Commander at Gipton Fire Station, Jon Sugden, said: “The man and woman were asleep upstairs when the fire started on the ground floor.

“They have been very, very lucky as the female occupant had woken up because she was struggling to breathe. Had she not, they could have both lost their lives.”

Two crews from Gipton spent around an hour and a half at the property using a high powered fan to clear the house of smoke.

The woman was taken to hospital by ambulance after suffering from smoke inhalation.”