Two people who escaped a fire which ripped through their south west London home may not have survived if they had not had a working smoke alarm, fire chiefs have said.
The pair were woken up by their alarm at about 2.30am today and managed to flee the house in Corkran Road, Surbiton, as flames sparked and raged for several hours.
One victim, a woman, suffered a leg injury as she escaped and was taken to hospital for treatment, the London Fire Brigade said.
More than 60 firefighters from across south west London battled the blaze until 7.30am today, when it was finally brought under control.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">On scene with <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/LondonFire" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-2923526-https://twitter.com/LondonFire" data-vars-event-id="c23">@LondonFire</a>, 12 pump fire in Surbiton, significant smoke in surrounding area <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://t.co/pBSLuy4aeU" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-2923526-http://t.co/pBSLuy4aeU" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/pBSLuy4aeU</a> — Sgt Jim Dicks (@MPSCoombeVleSgt) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/MPSCoombeVleSgt/status/637092746306691072" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-2923526-https://twitter.com/MPSCoombeVleSgt/status/637092746306691072" data-vars-event-id="c23">August 28, 2015</a>
Fire chiefs today said the pair were "saved" by their smoke alarm as they re-emphasised the importance of homeowners intalling a working smoke alarm.
Group Manager Dave O’Neill, who was at the scene, said: “Smoke alarms undoubtedly saved the lives of the two people who were inside at the time."
He added: “I can’t stress how important smoke alarms are. You should have them on every floor of your home and you should test them regularly.
"If this house didn’t have a working smoke alarm, the story could have had a very different ending."
The fire destroyed the property's roof, gutted its first floor and damaged the ground floor. Investigators were today working to establish what caused it.
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