A pet owner tried to jump out of a smouldering window with her beloved dog when she realised her house was engulfed by flames.
Paige Hope, 29, lost everything in the devastating fire after she left a chip pan unattended and accidentally fell asleep.
She woke up choking to find her home full of thick black smoke, and subsequently tried to jump from her window with her dog Molly, but the frame was too hot to touch.
Moments later, she was thrown forward in an explosion and broke her leg as she landed on the ground, reported the Manchester Evening News.
Quick-thinking neighbours dialled 999 and fire crews rushed to the scene in Leigh, Greater Manchester.
Paige said: "I don’t know how I survived. I realised the flat was on fire when I woke up choking. Everything was black.
"I thought not to open the door because the fire would come in. The only way I could get out was jumping through the window."
She added: "I was shouting ‘help I’m trapped’ and went to jump out the window with my dog.
"I went to the frame and it was that hot I couldn’t even touch it. I was thrown out the window and landed on both my feet."
Helpful neighbours rushed Paige to safety as fire crews arrived and rescued her Yorkshire Terrier Molly from the burning building.
Paige had taken medication which led to her accidentally fall asleep before the fire broke out.
"I went through domestic violence a few years ago and the medication sends me to sleep,” she explained.
"Some people saw me in the garden and carried me to safety.
"I shouted that my dog was in the flat. The fire crews kicked the door down and came out with her. She was a big ball of black.
“Everyone was crying in the middle of the street thinking she was dead.
"I screamed her name and she turned at looked at me and I thought ‘oh my God she’s alive’.
"Everything was okay for me then. She is my lifeline.”
The fire was so destructive that it left nothing to salvage and Paige, who had no home insurance, lost all of her possessions.
She is currently staying with her mum and is waiting to see if she can be rehoused by the council.
Paige said: “I’m feeling lost, 29 years of my life has gone.
"I’m a very sentimental person, I hardly throw anything away so I’ve lost everything. There’s nothing."
She added: "I’m grateful because I still have my life and my dog still has her life.
"I’m grateful for that no matter what. I’ve come out with a broken leg and a couple of scars. It’s minor.
"I’ve always been an independent person so having to get help having a bath and washing my hair is hard to get used to.
"But it is what it is. I don’t think it’s really hit me, it’s gone from having everything to living out of a Primark bag starting from scratch.
"At the moment I’m just stuck in a circle thinking ‘where am I going from here?’
"I only just got my life intact. I just got out of domestic violence for many years and my mental health improved.
"I proved everyone wrong who doubted me and showed them I could do it just for my medication to not wake me up.”
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service was called to the tragedy shortly after 3am on July 20.
A spokesperson said: "Three fire engines from Atherton and Leigh fire stations attended a fire at a domestic property on Maple Crescent, Leigh.
"The fire involved a first floor flat, and firefighters used six breathing apparatus, two hose reels, a positive pressure ventilation fan, thermal imaging camera and short extension ladder to extinguish the fire.
"One casualty was taken to hospital by North West Ambulance Service. Fire crews were in attendance for over two hours."
A fundraiser has since been set up on gofundme to help Paige rebuild her life and replace some of the possessions she has lost.
