Woman tells of escape from fire

JUST inches from her face Mandy Kaufmann woke to find the pillow on which she was laying enveloped in flames.

Today she told of her fear at waking to find herself just seconds away from a potential disaster.

Ms Kaufmann, 35, was asleep in the front bedroom of her house that she shares with her boyfriend, Jona Jones, when the drama unfolded.

She said: "I was asleep in bed when I opened my eyes to see by pillow on fire. The tea-light candle which was on my bedside table had caught my pillow.

"I jumped up got a damp towel, placed it over the fire, containing it, and then got out – it was quite a fright."

The bedroom of the mid-terrace house, in Kings Road, Bury St Edmunds, was severely damaged in the blaze which broke out just after 11pm yesterday.

Two fire crews from Bury St Edmunds attended the blaze and took approximately 25 minutes to bring it under control.

Ms Kaufmann today praised the fire service for their quick response time and she said she couldn't thank them enough for all their hard work.

"They were here within about two minutes," she said. "They were wonderful and I was extremely grateful for all their help."

Just a couple of weeks ago Ms Kaufmann was at a health and safety talk at West Suffolk College given by Ipswich firefighters.

Today she said their advice was invaluable as she was able to stop her boyfriend opening the window to let the smoke out. "If I had let my boyfriend open the window it would have let in oxygen and the flames would have been far worse. Luckily all the advice they gave me was fresh in my memory and I knew exactly what to do."

Elsewhere firefighters were called to tackle a chimney fire in Otley yesterday>

The fire broke out at Primrose Cottage in the village shortly before 9pm and one fire engine from Debenham attended the scene.

The fire was put out just before 9.20pm.