Barrow woman saves family after banging on door during fire

Smoke poured into the air as emergency services arrived at the scene

When a shipyard worker saw smoke rising from a row of houses, she had no idea she would be the first to raise the alarm, potentially saving many lives.

Carolanne McInally was driving home from work as the fire took hold on Salthouse Road, in Barrow-in-Furness, just after 17:00 BST last Thursday.

No one else appeared to have noticed - and with no emergency services to be seen - she "jumped" from her car and dialled 999.

Ms McInally, who lives in the town, said she started banging on doors, urging those inside their homes to evacuate - and telling them to alert their neighbours.

The first door she knocked on belonged to a woman with four children, whose home was beginning to burn.

"She must have been petrified, the way I knocked on that door, because I gave it all I could," she told the BBC.

Carolanne McInally dialled 999 when she saw smoke rising from the row of homes

"She had a toddler in her arms and I said there was a fire. She could see all the smoke, it was starting to come through the house, and she passed the kid over really fast.

"She was saying there were more children. The kids were screaming."

One by one, the family were helped into Ms McInally's car before she, along with the mother, attempted to drive up the road to safety.

"I couldn't even see my steering wheel - trying to come away from the fire was really hard, none of us could breathe," Ms McInally recalled.

She likened their dramatic escape to "something in a movie - that's the only way I can explain it".

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) declared the fire as a "major incident". Nine fire engines, including fire engines from Lancashire, were on the scene shortly afterwards.

CFRS area manager Brian Massie said the fire took hold "very rapidly", adding "it certainly was frightening".

There were no reports of injuries, and the cause of the fire is being investigated, Cumbria Police has said.

It is not yet known what caused the fire, which ripped through the homes in Salthouse Road, Barrow-in-Furness

A week on, many of the residents evacuated during the fire remain in temporary accommodation, Ms McInally said. She has organised a campaign to support them, asking people to donate any clothes - and even offer unused accommodation.

"People have lost everything, but the community have been amazing, they've offered baby products, anything and everything I could have asked for," she said.

She added she had not "full taken in" what happened on the night of the fire "but I would do it again and wouldn't give it a second guess".

Westmorland and Furness Council, which has assessed the impacted homes, said they believe they are not at risk of imminent collapse, but said further assessments are expected.