A MAN and a woman were rescued from a second-floor window ledge as a fire took hold inside a flat.

A firefighter spotted the pair, who were stranded around 30ft up, clinging on after escaping an attic bedroom through the window.

Below them, the lounge was on fire and the property in Whalley Range, Blackburn, was filled with ‘heavy, thick, poisonous smoke’. Fire crews used ladders to help the two people to safety.

One fire chief said: “They are lucky to have got out. Thankfully, they had a working smoke alarm and everyone got out relatively unharmed.”

Firefighters were called to the flat, above a vacant shop near the junction with Wesley Street, at 7.05am on Friday.

Another woman, who had been in a different bedroom, got out through the front door and alerted the firefighters to the fact two others were inside.

Watch manager Nick Ingham said: “We got a call at 7.05am reporting a fire above a shop.

“We were told there was some smoke coming from a first-floor window but there were no persons reported.

“When we arrived, one woman had ran downstairs and got out. We spoke to her and it became clear there were two more people inside.

“They were in the attic, which is basically a converted loft space.

“We committed two crews with hose reels and breathing apparatus to put out the fire and search for the two people unaccounted for. It was very precarious.

“The crew manager noticed that two people, a male and a female, were out on a ledge and we were able to get a ladder to them to get them down safely.”

All three people were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene by paramedics.

The Boxing Day fire destroyed the lounge and caused moderate smoke damage to the rest of the property, which is next door to fashion store Jumanah Creations.

Watch manager Ingham said the cause was still being investigated.

Pervaiz Akhtar, who had been visiting the Masjid-E-Anisul Islam mosque in nearby Troy Street, said: “I was walking back from the mosque, getting ready to go into town for the Boxing Day sales, when I just saw all these flashing lights.

“We didn’t hear the fire engines or anything but it came as quite a shock. I hope everyone is ok.”