A CHAPELFORD mum said she has 'no doubt' that her family would have died if they had not installed smoke alarms in their home.

A fire broke out at 35-year-old Kirsty Tarbuck's house on Odessa Walk in the early hours of Monday morning.

The blaze started in the kitchen where a set of men's electric hair clippers had been left plugged in but switched off.

Kirsty said at first she thought the fire alarms were faulty because she could not smell anything burning.

She said: “I was still awake and within seconds all three alarms went off.

"I just thought they were broken because I couldn’t smell any smoke.

"My husband, Roy, opened the door to the kitchen and there was a layer of black smoke at the top of the room. There was flames, the hob was engulfed."

She rushed upstairs to wake her eight-year-old stepdaughter, Marie, while her husband saved their two dogs, a German Shepherd called Shadow and a Beagle called Elvis, who were sleeping in the kitchen.

Firefighters were called to the scene and put out the flames.

Now Kirsty is appealing for other families to check their smoke alarms.

She said: “There is no doubt that we would have been dead if the fire alarm didn’t go off. The kitchen is right by the front door so that is our exit point.

“I have a hard-wired smoke alarm and I just want people to get a smoke alarm or if they have one to check it to make sure they are working.

“We got out because of the smoke alarm. We couldn’t even smell smoke downstairs until we went into the kitchen, that’s how good they are.”

Although the hob was badly damaged and the clippers destroyed, Kirsty was thankful that the damage was not worse and her family are safe.

Lynsey McVay, service delivery manager for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “This family were really lucky that they had a working smoke alarm and they were alerted very quickly to the fire.

“We recommend not leaving any electrical items plugged in overnight.

“This could have been a much more serious incident. Once they had discovered the fire the family did the right thing by getting out, staying out and calling 999.”

For more information about smoke alarms visit cheshirefire.co.uk.