Women rescued from Addlestone blaze by off-duty firemen
Two women have been rescued from a fire by two off-duty firefighters who were woken by the smell of smoke.
The men, who live nearby, heard screaming and rushed to the house in in Church Road, Addlestone, Surrey, in the early hours of Wednesday.
One of the women was rescued by ladder from a first floor window and the other was encouraged to jump down.
Officer in charge, Bob Weldon-Gamble, said he was very proud of firemen Bill Edwards and Mick Culver.
He said that when they arrived the downstairs window of the house had blown out and 6ft (2m) flames were pouring out of the building.
"The ladies were obviously in immense distress," he said.
"I would like to think that the training of our colleagues kicked in immediately."
The women were clear of the property when fire engines arrived to be briefed by their off-duty colleagues.
"Firefighters went to the first floor to search for other occupiers," said Mr Weldon-Gamble.
"Luckily there were none, and they were able to stop the fire spreading to neighbouring properties very quickly because of that briefing."