A MUM and her two children escaped from a flat fire in Blackburn this afternoon.

Firefighters said the young family, who were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation, had been ‘extremely lucky’.

Thanks to smoke alarms, the mother, in her early 20s, was able to rescue the children from the ‘rapid’ spread of the blaze at the ground floor flat on Oakenshaw Road, off Montague Street.

Watch manager Barry Hornsby said the crews were able to see the smoke from the fire station when they were called to the blaze at 2pm. The mum and her children, thought to be three and 18 months, escaped as crews arrived.

The watch manager said: “It was a very intense and hot fire, as we arrived the flames had already burst through the bedroom window.

"They were incredibly lucky they had working smoke alarms.

"Without them it could easily have been a fatality.”