Two rescued from fires

Firefighters attended the scenes of both blazes

A woman in her 70s and a student have been rescued from separate fires in Northern Ireland.

The elderly woman was asleep at her bungalow in Agnes Street, in the Shankill area of west Belfast, when a fire started in a bedroom.

A neighbour called the Fire Brigade after hearing a smoke alarm just after 2215 GMT on Saturday.

Firefighters carried the woman to safety.

The officer in charge, David Hayburn, said the pensioner was saved by the prompt action of her neighbour.

"When we approached the property we became aware there was an elderly lady standing in the smoke," he said.

"Two of my firefighters went in and brought that lady out. The smoke alarm in the property was working properly but she just didn't identify the sound as meaning that she was in danger.

"So if it hadn't been for her neighbour phoning the 999 number it's unlikely that this lady would have actually left her property."

Smoke inhalation

The second rescue took place at student accommodation in Whitehouse Court, Newtownabbey, after a cooker went on fire.

The student was asleep when neighbours heard his smoke alarm.

Fire Brigade spokesman Tim Entwhistle said it again showed the importance of smoke alarms.

On Friday night, a man and his dog were rescued from a fire in Londonderry.

A passer-by spotted smoke coming from a flat at Melrose Terrace and rang the fire brigade.

Both the man and his pet suffered smoke inhalation.