A PREGNANT woman and her partner were alerted to a fire in their house  by their working smoke alarm.

Crews were called to a fire at a house in Main Road, Broomfield, last night at 10.45pm.

When firefighters arrived they reported that the fire was in the kitchen and the house was heavily smoke logged, but thanks to their working smoke alarms, the occupants had already left the property safely.

Firefighters worked quickly to extinguish the fire by 11.20pm.

Station Officer Ean Summerfield said: "At the time of the fire the homeowners were upstairs. 

"As this was a small property the house filled with smoke very quickly, so if there had been any delay in them discovering the fire it's likely they would have been trapped or overcome by smoke.

"Thankfully their working smoke alarm alerted them to the fire and they did the right thing by immedialy getting out, staying out and calling 999."

The cause of the fire has been recorded as accidental and started after the cooker was left on.