A WOMAN who had to be rescued from a house fire along with her baby niece after an arson attack has spoken of her ordeal.

The blaze in Addison Close, Blackburn, in the early hours of Wednesday, began after a lit object was stuffed through the front door of the terrace property.

Police were today questioning a 33-year-old man from Blackburn on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger lives.

Shazia Rashid, 28, who was saved from the house by firefighters along with her 22-month-old niece, said she expected the house to "blow up".

She said: "The electric and gas meters were right next to the door.

"I rang the emergency services and they told me to put pillows in front of the bedroom door to block the smoke out. I was also told to keep our heads out of the window and wait for the firefighters to arrive."

Shazia was babysitting her niece and they were the only ones in the house at the time.

When fire crews arrived, the baby had to be handed to safety through a first-floor bedroom window of the house. Fire crews extinguished the blaze before leading Shazia to safety.

The alarm was first raised by Shazia at around 3.30am on Wednesday.