Passer-by rescues elderly man from Wombourne house fire

The pensioner was trying to escape, fire crews believe, as the smoke alarms sounded and had to be helped to safety by a passer-by.

Flames swept through the detached house in Bratch Lane, Wombourne, quickly tearing through the roof and the first floor.

It is believed to have been started by an electric fan heater left on in one of the upstairs bedrooms.

The flames started at around 12.30pm on Saturday and destroyed more than half of the roof, three bedrooms and the landing.

Crews from Dudley and Tettenhall were first to arrive on scene, followed by firefighters from Bilston. A crew from the Staffordshire service also attended to help control the situation later on.

Several members of the public made 999 calls alerting the fire service. Crew Commander Carl Hill said that the elderly man had been helped out of the building by a passer-by prior to their arrival.

He said: "We were called to the scene of a severe fire at a house in Wombourne, where a fire had broken out due to an electric fan heater.

"The fire was contained to three rooms which were left gutted and 70 per cent of the roof was also destroyed.

"We understand a member of the public helped an elderly gentleman evacuate the building before we arrived but that person didn't stay at the scene.

"Due to smoke detectors being installed, the occupant received early warning and was presumably making his way out at the time."

Four engines and one hydraulic platform were used by fire fighters to extinguish the flames, which were put out within an hour, with crews from Stafford staying until the evening to keep an eye on the situation.

The road was blocked while appliances were at the scene.