Woman helped from smoke-logged house in Wigan after kitchen fire

Emergency services were called to a bungalow on Winstanley Place in Ince shortly before 10pm on Wednesday.

Other news: Sex offender found guilty of molesting young girlThey found a small fire in the kitchen, where it is believed the cooker had not been fully switched off, and the entire property full of thick smoke.

The woman who lived there had been alerted by her smoke alarm and called 999 herself but was struggling to get out of the property.

She was treated by the fire service for the effects of smoke inhalation.

The North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) also attended to give her a check-up but she did not have to go to hospital.

Firefighters extinguished the flames, with fire damage fortunately restricted to the kitchen, and then used a large fan to clear out all the smoke.

The crew from Wigan fire station is now reminding residents of the importance of safety in the kitchen and of having working smoke alarms.

Watch manager Carl Gleaves said: "It is very important people do not leave food unattended on a hob and then make sure all appliances are properly switched off after they have been used. We want them to be extra vigilant about this.

"Thankfully in this case the woman was just in the living room and called us so the fire was stopped at a very early stage. It could have been a lot worse.

"This also shows the importance of having working smoke alarms to let people know if there is a problem."

Fire crews were at the scene for around an hour and 45 minutes.