Mansfield Woodhouse teen leads family to safety after blaze destroys bedroom

A proud dad told how his teenage daughter made sure her brothers and sisters were safe after fire swept through a bedroom at their Mansfield Woodhouse home.
Front garden of the house on Manor Road Mansfield Woodhouse after the bedroom blaze.Front garden of the house on Manor Road Mansfield Woodhouse after the bedroom blaze.
Front garden of the house on Manor Road Mansfield Woodhouse after the bedroom blaze.

Paige Gray, 17 and her boyfriend Jordan 19 were babysitting for her brothers Liam 14, Freddy 6 and sister Madison 10, when the blaze started on Saturday night.

Dad Anthony Lumley 39 said his youngest son Freddy had raised the alarm.

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He said: “Paige had just been in the bath and her boyfriend was watching the kids.

“Little Freddy was playing in the front bedroom when he came running down the stairs shouting to his big sister that there was smoke coming out of the room opposite he shares with his brother Liam.

“Paige ran upstairs to check the back bedroom which was on fire- she thought Liam was still in there - she saw a quilt ruffled up and thought he was asleep underneath.

“He wasn’t there though, he’d nipped out to the shop without telling her.”

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Paige made sure everyone was out of the house including their American Akita dog Kita and then ran upstairs and shut the bedroom door to contain the blaze until firecrews arrived.

“The firemen said she had saved the fire from spreading though the rest of the upstairs,” said Anthony.

“If it wasn’t for Paige the whole lot would have gone up.”

Anthony said he had rushed to the scene within minutes with his partner Joanne Peters after Paige called him on his mobile.

The couple had been at a nearby friend’s anniversary celebration.

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Freddy was taken to hospital for checks, where he was given the all clear.

Anthony said Freddy and Liam had lost all their clothes and toys in the fire.

He thanked his family friends and neighbours for helping in the aftermath.

Nottinghamshire Fires Services are investigating the cause of the blaze at the semi-detached house on Manor Road.

Crews from Mansfield and Edwinstowe used a hosereel jet, four sets of breathing apparatus and a thermal imaging camera during the operation to extinguish the fire.

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