Market Drayton pet rescue: Praise for firefighters from owner
A Market Drayton pet owner has thanked the fire service for rescuing her dogs, hamsters and a turtle from a house fire.
Three fire engines were sent from Hodnet, Market Drayton and Prees to the kitchen fire at a property in Barton's Lane, at about 7.45pm on Thursday night.
Victoria Vespa, who lives at the property, said she was at football training when the fire broke out.
She said: "We are so grateful to the firefighters and cannot thank them enough.
"They do not get enough recognition for the amazing work they do.
"We were at football when the fire broke out and our friend and neighbour called the fire service.
"We were relieved when we found out our pets – dogs Shiloh, Corky and Percy, hamsters Pablo and Jeff and turtle called Squirtle – were all safe.
"Thank you so much to the fire service for saving our animals."
Fire officials said the incident shows the importance of having a smoke alarm, as this is what alerted a neighbour to the fire.
Firefighters spent three hours tackling the fire and no people were found trapped inside the house.
A spokesman for Market Drayton Fire Station said: "On arrival at the address a smoke alarm could be heard to be operating from within, and smoke could be seen through the letter box.
"Initially it could not be ascertained if anyone was inside the property, so the incident commander made the incident "persons reported", indicating that there may be people trapped inside.
"A third fire appliance from Prees was mobilised to the incident by fire control in Shrewsbury, along with resources from West Midlands Ambulance Service and West Mercia Police.
"Crews forced entry into the property and were confronted with heavy smoke logging, six firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were committed into the property to search for any casualties and extinguish the fire.
"A rapid search of the property was carried out by the breathing apparatus teams, and we are pleased to report that there were no persons were found to be trapped inside.
"Crews rescued three dogs and two gerbils from inside the property. We are glad to say that they all appear not to have suffered any ill effects from the smoke.
"The fire was confined to the kitchen area, however the rest of the property was affected by smoke damage. The cause of the fire is accidental and there are no suspicious circumstances.
"Crews used six breathing apparatus, two hose reel jets, one main jet and a positive pressure fan to deal with the incident, and were on scene for approximately three hours.
"We would like to stress the importance of having at least one working smoke alarm, on each floor of your property as this is what alerted a neighbour to this fire."
Crews left the scene at about 8.20pm.
