AN ELDERLY woman and her son were rescued from a burning flat at Margate early today. The blaze broke out at the first floor property in Homestead Close shortly after 1am.

Although the cause is not yet known, it is thought to have started in a living room settee. Kent fire brigade station officer Mick White said: “They were very fortunate to be rescued without serious injury. The the flat did not have a smoke alarm fitted.

As the flat began to fill with smoke, the occupants could not see to undo the deadlock on the front door and our fire crews had to break it down to get in.

“If a smoke detector had been fitted, they would have had early warning of the emergency and could have let themselves out before the smoke and heat became too dangerous. They were really very lucky.”

Station officer White said that elderly people qualify for a free smoke alarm under the countywide Senior Safety Handy Van project. He said: “There is no need for any elderly and vulnerable person not to have a working smoke alarm fitted in their homes.”

The woman, who is 75, and her son, who is in his early 50s, were taken to the Queen Mother Hospital at Margate for treatment for smoke inhalation.

Station officer White added that about 50 per cent of the living room was damaged by fire and the remainder by heat and smoke. Fire crews from Margate and Thanet fire station at Broadstairs tackled the blaze.