Firefighters rescue father and son from Upminster house fire

A FATHER and son had to be rescued after a fire tore through their house on Sunday afternoon.

The pair who have not been named were rescued from their home by firefighters in Pentire Close, Upminster on Sunday December 5 at around 1.20pm.

Green watch crews from Romford, Harold Hill and Dagenham fire stations received a call at around 1.15pm to reports of a house on fire.

Using breathing apparatus and specialist equipment around 20 firefighters managed to rescue the pair from their house using a nine metre ladder from the roof.

Firefighters also managed to rescue two cats from the ground floor of the house.

Crews from the London Ambulance arrived at the scene at around 1.30pm with two ambulance crews and a hazard area response team where two patients were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.

The fire is believed to have started in the ground after a possible problem with the boiler.

Around 20% of the ground floor is thought to have been damaged by the blaze.

Green Watch Manager from Harold Hill fire station, Terry Chaplin said: “This was quite an unusal fire rescue because it was during the afternoon and most of the rescues that we do happen at night.

“They were quite lucky because things may have been more serious if they did not get out but they had smoke alarms fitted that were not working.”