Last updated at 11:30, Thursday, 23 July 2009

An elderly woman died following a fire at her home in west Cumbria today.

Fire crews spent some time fighting the fire

Firefighters had managed to get 83-year-old Elizabeth Robinson out of the house in Holmrook, near Seascale, but she was later pronounced dead.

Crews said heat inside was so intense that visors on their helmets had been destroyed.

The alarm was raised after the daughter of the dead woman, who was known as Betty, managed to get out of the house at Peel Place when a smoke alarm went off at about 4am.

The victim was in her upstairs bedroom when the fire started.

Eighteen firefighters from Seascale, Bootle and Egremont battled the blaze for two hours.

The property – a farmhouse down an isolated lane in front of Peel Place Quarry – was well alight when they arrived.

David Moor, of Seascale fire station, said: “These were very difficult conditions. The firefighters’ visors were totally destroyed by the heat. That’s how hot it was.

“We can’t emphasise enough the importance of having smoke alarms. This is a tragedy, but it could have been much worse. It could have been two lives lost.”

The woman was in her upstairs bedroom when the fire started.

Eight firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the house and searched for the elderly woman.

They found her in her bedroom.

Fire service group manager Adrian Holme said: “We found a well developed fire within the property on the first floor.

“The actions of the firefighters were exemplary. It was very challenging for the initial crews.

“Firefighters will risk their lives to save lives.”

It is understood that the smoke alarm woke the victim’s daughter, who got out of the house and called firefighters. She also managed to get two sheepdogs out.

Police were also alerted to the emergency. A force spokesman said: “Firefighters rescued the woman from her bedroom. They brought her out of the property.”

The woman was taken to the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven. She was pronounced dead at 5.50am.

A joint investigation by the fire service and police is now underway into the cause of the fire.

Early indications suggest the fire started in an upstairs bedroom although it is unclear if it was in the elderly woman’s bedroom.

A police spokesman added: “No suspicious circumstances have been identified at this stage.”

A fire investigator was at the scene this morning to help determine the cause of the fire and speak to the firefighters who carried the woman out.

First published at 07:40, Thursday, 23 July 2009
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk