Five people narrowly avoided calamity after smoke alarms alerted them to a fire at their home in Croydon on Wednesday (February 24).

London Fire Brigade (LFB), who attended the blaze, urged residents to use the case as proof of how important smoke alarms can be after the devices kicked into action to warn the occupants of a fire late at night.

Most of the ground floor of the property on Cator Crescent in Croydon was damaged by the fire, which broke out sometime before the brigade were called at 10.27pm.

All five occupants of the house escaped after they were woken by the sound of smoke alarms, with one resident treated at the scene by the emergency services who attended.

Speaking after the blaze that he helped put out, LFB Station Commander Matt Leaver said:

"Crews arrived to find a smoke logged house and identified that the fire had originated in a cupboard under the stairs.

"The residents were asleep at the time of the fire and were awoken by smoke alarms fitted inside the property, which gave them time to escape.

"This incidents shows just how important it is to have working smoke alarms in every room where a fire can start in your home, for example any room where appliances are plugged in, plus a heat alarm in the kitchen and the bathroom."

For more information on smoke alarms in your home, click here.