Man dies in house fire

The man's body was found in the lounge

An investigation is underway after a man died in a house fire in Lancashire.

Fire officers say he would have had a better chance of survival if the house had been fitted with smoke alarms.

Fire crews rescued a 53-year-old woman from the house, in Blackburn Road, Darwen on Monday night.

Scenes of crime officers were at the house on Tuesday morning investigating how the fire began.

'No smoke detectors'

Sub-officer Tony Hartley, from Darwen fire station, said: "Because Blackburn Road is fairly straight, within quarter of a mile of the house we could see flames coming from the ground floor that were already reaching the eaves."

He said they managed to find the woman at the back of the house who told them she believed the 44-year-old man was in an upstairs bedroom.

"However, after a thorough search upstairs, he was found in the lounge area of the ground floor," said Mr Hartley.

"If smoke detectors had been fitted at the property there would have been a much greater chance of him surviving."

The woman was being treated for smoke inhalation at Blackburn Royal hospital.