Family of seven rescued from house fire in Rochdale

Three children, their parents, two grandparents, and a puppy were all asleep at the time the blaze broke out at the house on Manchester Road in Rochdale in the early hours of this morning

A family was rescued from their home by firefighters on Manchester Road, Castleton

A family of seven and their pet dog were rescued by firefighters after a blaze ripped through their house in Rochdale.

Fire crews raced to the house on Manchester Road in Rochdale, close to Beech House School,  at around 3.30am in the early hours of this morning after reports a car was on fire.

They found flames from a Volkswagen Golf parked underneath the window sill of a house, had spread and began to tear through the large two storey house.

Three children, their parents, two grandparents, and a puppy were all asleep at the time the blaze broke out.

They were brought to safety by fire crews wearing breathing apparatus who searched the property.

Around 20 firefighters then battled the flames and used hose reels and a large fan to extinguish the fire.

Fire crews at Manchester Road in Castleton

The family were all assessed by paramedics at the scene but all of them said they didn’t require hospital treatment.

The officer in charge of the incident has now praised crews for their swift action.

Station Manager Paul Whittaker said: “The first firefighters that attended could see that this was a well-developed fire. “The fire involving a car had rapidly come into contact with the ground floor windows, spreading to the rest of the property.

“Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus quickly searched the house and in doing so were able to safely lead a family and a puppy to safety.

“Crew worked incredibly hard to carry out the safe rescue of so many people and get the fire under control.”

Fire investigators and police are due to begin a probe into the cause of the fire later today.