A FAMILY fled their home after their dishwasher burst into flames.

Two adults and two children under ten escaped from their home in Sleaford Close, Brandlesholme, after discovering the blaze shortly after 12.10am this morning.

A dishwasher in the detached house had been left on overnight and an electrical fault sparked a blaze.

The father, in his early forties, was alerted to the blaze because smoke alarms in the house went off.

Bury station manager Pete Fletcher said: “This family did exactly what they were supposed to do – immediately on knowing there was a fire they got themselves out and called 999.

“Fortunately, the family were alerted by smoke alarms they had fitted, otherwise this would have been a different story.

“This really stresses the importance of having working smoke alarms. They really do save lives and we would like to see everyone in the borough having one.”

When crews from Bury and Whitefield arrived the house was full of smoke but they managed to keep smoke damage to a minimum by using a ventilation fan.

This is the first time firefighters have used the fan during the blaze, rather than after it has been put out, after they received training for this about six months ago.

Station manager Fletcher said it was important people understand not to leave appliances on overnight.

He added: “The fire service stresses that ideally people should not leave appliances on overnight – especially washing machines and dishwashers – because things like this can happen.

“Using the positive pressure ventilation fan mitigated the smoke damage and meant it was kept to an absolute minimum.

“This future firefighting technique takes half the time to put the fire out and causes half the damage.”

To request a free home safety check from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service call 0800 555 815.