A FAMILY pet died after a fierce blaze ripped through a home on Saturday.

Ten firefighters from Accrington fire station were called to tackle the kitchen fire at around 9.30am.

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A couple in their ‘late 20s or early 30s’ managed to escape unharmed after a carbon monoxide detector sounded while they were in bed.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the terraced property and rescued one rottweiler dog, although another died before it could be saved.

The cause of the blaze at the house in Spring Street, Rishton, was not believed to be suspicious, a fire service spokesman said.

Green watch manager at Accrington fire station, Tony Spencer, said: “The two occupants managed to get out the property, but there was still two large rottweilers inside.

“We managed to rescue one but unfortunately one of them died in the house.”

The kitchen suffered ‘extensive damage’ in the fire, which took around two-and-a-half hours to put out, while a back room suffered both heat and smoke damage.

The house did not have any smoke alarms, and watch manager Tony Spencer said it was ‘fortunate’ the couple had a carbon monoxide beside a combi-boiler in the bathroom.

He said: “It was the carbon monoxide from the smoke that set the detector off. They were in bed at the time and the situation could have been a lot worse.

“Fortunately, these people got away with it this time. If they had smoke alarms in, they would have been alerted earlier.”

A closed door at the bottom of the stairs also prevented the fire from spreading, Mr Spencer added.

Although the fire was not believed to have been started deliberately, an investigation into its exact cause was launched.