Birds saved from kitchen blaze

IPSWICH: A pensioner today thanked firefighters for saving her beloved pet birds after her lunch caught fire on the hob.

Violet Curran, who lives in sheltered housing, left her chips cooking in a pan of oil while she popped out to get some fish.

The pan burst into flames - but incredibly the 83-year-old widow went back into her kitchen as her house in Stubbs Close filled with smoke.

She made a sharp exit just before firefighters poured into the house, off Landseer Road, to tackle the blaze.

They also rescued her cockatiel, named Dirty Bertie, and her eight-year-old wingless Canary called Pip.

Mrs Curran said the birds would certainly have died had they been in the house much longer and they appear to have been unhurt.

Mrs Curran, whose husband died ten years ago, said: “They are all I have got. I would like to thank the firefighters for saving them. The smoke would have killed them.”

The incident happened at around 12.15pm yesterday when Mrs Curran was collecting her fish from All Hallows Court, the sheltered housing centre where she is a resident.

She said: “I like my own chips so I thought I would put them on and then finish them off when I got back.

“Somebody came over and told me my house was on fire. It was a real shock, but I had to see it so I went in the back door.

“There were flames right up to the ceiling and the house was full of smoke, but I didn't stop long to find out any more.”

Mrs Curran was unhurt in the incident, but fears she may suffer a delayed reaction to the shock.

Friends have been helping her tidy the house and Mrs Curran said staff from Ipswich Borough Council, which runs All Hallows Court, were also due to help clean up the damage.

Do you want to thank the firefighters? Write to Your Letters, The Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk