A MAN felt his house ‘shake’ after he heard an ‘explosion’ in his neighbour’s attic.

Firefighters were called to Green Street in Padiham after fire was seen coming from the roof of a house at 4.30pm.

Derek Denson, a Green Street resident, said his house moved as he heard a loud bang coming from next door.

Mr Denson, who has lived in the house for more than six years, said he looked outside and saw flames coming out of the roof about a metre high.

One man suffered burns to his face and was taken to hospital.

He said: “The house shook as I heard what sounded like an explosion next door.

“I was really worried about what was going on and concerned for everyone’s safety.

“I saw the fire engines pull up outside and the crews began to fight the fire.

“They had a long ladder and removing tiles from the roof to get inside.

“I went outside and stayed there in case the fire spread.”

Another Green Street resident said lots of people were seen in the street as smoke spread down the street.

She said: “I came out my house and saw the fire engines and wondered what had happened.

“I could smell smoke from my house but the fire did not spread, luckily.

“Seeing fire coming from a house close to yours is a very disconcerting thing.

“I didn’t know if it would spread to my house, or if I would have one left.”

Another residents said the road was usually a quiet area and there hadn’t been a fire nearby for a long time.

A fire service spokesman said the cause of the fire is to be established.

Mr Denson said: “My pug, Ralph, tried to get out and see what was going on as the fire engines made him excited, it made his day.

“The firefighters left at around 8pm and then they returned at roughly midnight to check everything was okay.”

Lee Garner, crew manager at Padiham fire station, said: “There were no working smoke alarms in the property to alert the occupants.

“Smoke alarms save lives, you are more than twice as likely to die in a fire at home if you haven’t got one.

“A smoke alarm is the easiest way to alert you to the danger of fire, giving you and your family precious time to escape.

“Firefighters used hosereel jets to extinguish the fire, using the aerial ladder platform it helped them to remove roof tiles to gain access to the fire.

“They used portable fan units to extract smoke and heat.”