A nine-year-old boy was quick to raise the alarm to a fire after seeing smoke coming from the windows of a neighbour’s house.
The boy saw smoke coming from a flat in Lincoln Way in Maldon and rushed home to tell his parents to call 999.
The fire service was called at 9.09am yesterday morning.
Crews from Maldon and Chelmsford rushed to the scene and on arrival, reported that a ground floor flat was heavily smoke logged and the smoke alarms were going off.
Crews wearing breathing apparatus entered the flat and found a fire in the kitchen.
Firefighters extinguished the fire and rescued a cat by 9.41am.
Crews believe the fire was caused after the hob was accidentally turned on.
The flat has been left uninhabitable due to the fire and smoke damage.
Firefighters have praised the young boy for raising the alarm, which they believe stopped the incident from being much worse.
Crew manager Nick Trice, from Maldon Fire Statio,n said: “We’d like to highlight the quick-thinking from this boy, had he not raised the alarm so quickly, this could have been a much bigger incident and multiple people could have been made homeless.
“This incident shows why it’s so important to have working smoke alarms, they don’t just raise the alarm to you but also to neighbours and passers by if there’s a fire while you’re not home.
“If you or someone you know doesn’t have working smoke alarms at home, we can fit them for free.”
