Man suffers smoke inhalation after escaping Little Grove house fire by crawling out of window in early hours

A man is lucky to be alive after escaping his burning home in Albany by crawling out of a window, when he was woken by a smoke detector in the early hours of Monday morning. The blaze was first reported to emergency services by the man at 1.26am on Monday. The man crawled out of a window to escape the flames. No other occupants were inside the Bay View Drive house at the time of the fire. A St John WA spokeswoman said the man in his 30s was taken to Albany Health Campus to be treated for smoke inhalation. The fire was contained to a small section of the house that has sustained fire damage while other areas of the property received significant smoke damage. A Department of Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said the blaze was extinguished by 3.35am. DFES area officer Great Southern Cameron Famlonga said the “expedited response” and “work undertaken early” meant the fire was contained to the room of origin. “Crews from the local government, South Coast Bushfire Brigade, DFES brigades of Albany Fire and Rescue and Albany Volunteer Fire and Rescue responded, and with their quick actions managed to keep the fire to the room of origin,” he said. “A working smoke detector raised the alarm and has woken him and potentially saved his life. “Only a working alarm will do this, and it’s a timely reminder to make sure it’s working.” The cause of the fire is undetermined and is under investigation by DFES.