Three siblings were taken to hospital following a dramatic house fire in Oldham on Saturday night.
A boy, 12, was woken by smoke and ran from the burning terraced home on Ronald Street to raise the alarm.
Residents flooded to the rear of the property where the boy's older siblings were trapped in an upstairs bathroom. Firefighters wearing breathing gear carried a young woman, 19, down the stairs and out of the front of the property while the oldest sibling, a man of 20, was rescued from the bathroom window via a pair of ladders.
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All three were taken to hospital to be treated for the effects of smoke inhalation. They were said to be conscious and recovering well.
The drama started at around 6.45pm when a fire which started in the kitchen quickly spread to the rest of the house.
The youngest sibling was said to be asleep downstairs but was awoken by the smoke and he ran out to get help. Two fire engines, police and paramedics were quickly on the scene.
One resident, who declined to be named, was full of praise for the emergency services.
He said: "The youngest came out and was saying he couldn't breathe and that's what woke him up. We all ran around the back of the house and we could see the kitchen was up in flames. There was smoke coming out of all of the windows.
"They were trapped in the bathroom. We were telling them to to get wet towels behind the bathroom door. That's when the fire engines got here. They were very quick."
He said firefighters rescued the middle sibling, a woman of 19, through the front door while the oldest was helped out of the first floor bathroom window at the rear of the house.
All three were conscious and breathing when they came out of the building and they were said to be recovering well in hospital.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said: "At around 6.45pm on Saturday 8 April, crews were called to reports of a fire at a home on Eric Street, Oldham.
"Four fire engines from Oldham, Hollins, Stalybridge and Mossley stations quickly attended the scene, where a fire had broken out in the kitchen of a terraced property.
"Firefighters rescued a man and a woman through an upstairs window, while a boy managed to get out of the property prior to crews’ arrival. All three are being assessed by colleagues from North West Ambulance Service.
"Fire crews remain in attendance, using breathing apparatus, hose reels, extension ladders and a positive pressure ventilation fan to extinguish the fire and make the area safe."
An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway.
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