THE parents of a five-year-old girl who alerted her family to a fire in their home in the middle of the night are urging others to learn from the ‘terrifying experience’.

Thick black smoke filled the house after an electrical fault involving a razor that had been left charging on the upstairs landing overnight.

With no smoke alarm on the landing and the alarm downstairs failing to activate, the sleeping family would have been unaware of the life-threatening fire had it not been for the five-year-old’s timely intervention.

She woke up at around 2am on Monday and began to scream.

Her screams woke up her nan who managed to extinguish the fire and unplug the electric razor.

The girl’s seven-year-old brother and their parents Russell Evans and Louanne Tushingham were also woken up and the family all got out of the house after being instructed to do so following a 999 call to Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Firefighters swiftly attended the address and administered oxygen to the two children, who were suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation.

Their dad Russell, 38, said: “The fire has caused significant damage to the landing but we are all feeling incredibly lucky. The consequences of the fire could have been much worse.

“The children sleep with their door open and their bedroom is nearest to the landing.

“Had it not been for my daughter waking up and screaming as smoke was filling their room we could have all died in our sleep. We will all be forever indebted to her."

The incident happened in Blacon near Chester but has been shared by Cheshire Fire as a warning to other families to never leave an electrical item charging overnight.

Russell added: “I had left my electric razor charging on the landing when I went to bed, something I have been doing every two weeks for the past two years.

“You read stories of fires stemming from electrical devices being charged but you never think it will happen to you.

“Now that it has happened to us and we have gone through this terrifying experience we have well and truly learnt the lesson that you should never leave anything charging when you are sleeping or out of the house.

“The same goes with making sure that you have a working smoke alarm on every floor of your home.

“I really hope that others learn those potentially life-saving lessons from the fire too.”

Nick Evans, Head of Prevention at Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, said the incident highlighted the importance of smoke alarms.

He added: “For maximum protection, a smoke alarm should be fitted in every room of your home except the bathroom, kitchen and garage, and a heat detector should be fitted in the kitchen.

“Smoke alarms are relatively cheap to buy and having them fitted can make the difference between life and death, as early detection will provide the vital time that you need to escape in the event of a fire.”