AN Ipswich dad has today praised firefighters and his neighbours after they stopped his son's home going up in flames.Carl Thorpe was shocked to discover a blaze had broken out in the home his four-year-old son Tai shares with his girlfriend, Victoria Piper, around 2.

AN Ipswich dad has today praised firefighters and his neighbours after they stopped his son's home going up in flames.

Carl Thorpe was shocked to discover a blaze had broken out in the home his four-year-old son Tai shares with his girlfriend, Victoria Piper, around 2.45pm yesterday.

Thankfully no one was in the flat in the Rapier Street complex in Wherstead Road when the fire started and neighbours were able to alert the fire service who extinguished the flames before they engulfed the whole building.

Mr Thorpe, who regularly visits the flat, said: “The dog must have flicked on the knob on the cooker, the hob heated up and there was a jacket right next to the hob. That is how the fire started we think.

“The kitchen is really badly smoke-damaged and the fridge-freezer is obliterated.

“The firefighters were great. They got the door bust open and the fire under control and saved the rest of the flat otherwise it may have been a lot worse.

“A big thanks to the firefighters and to the neighbours for alerting them.”

Mr Thorpe said he was also pleased no one had been in the house at the time of the fire and added that the dog, Huxley, had escaped unharmed too.

Would you like to praise the emergency services? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.