Families escape from house fires

Two boys escaped from a fire in their house in Eastville, Bristol after they were woken up by smoke.

The two boys aged 10 and 12 were asleep in bed when fire broke out in their home in Freemantle Gardens in the early hours of Saturday.

A candle had been left burning overnight and flames spread after a magazine and cards were set alight.

Avon Fire Brigade spokesman Mark Webb said: "Thick black acrid smoke went into the bedroom. Fortunately the boys woke up.

"A smoke detector did not go off as the battery was flat."

In a separate fire in Halls Road, Kingswood, a three-year-old boy was saved when a smoke detector alerted his parents that a mattress was on fire.

It is believed he had been playing with a lighter.

The brigade also dealt with a fire in a back bedroom at a house in Gordon Road, St Werburghs.

An electrical fault in a stereo system was thought to have been the cause.