A HERO pet dog helped to save a family of three after a fire broke out in their Dartmouth home in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The family had removed the fire alarms as they were decorating their house in Britannia Avenue, so were unaware of the blaze until their pet woke them up.

Dartmouth station commander Neil Whitemore said they had a ‘very lucky’ escape as the fire, which started in a fridge-freezer in a cupboard under the stairs, caught hold.

After the dog raised the alarm, they were able to get out of a first floor window onto a flat roof and escape.

The fire destroyed 60 per cent of the ground floor of the house and the whole of the terraced property was damaged by smoke.

The parents and their son were treated by paramedics after the 3.45am fire.

A fire engine from Dart­mouth and one from Brixham were called out.

When they arrived, the crews confirmed smoke was coming from the property and quickly called for further support.

Additional appliances were mobilised from Brixham, Kingsbridge and Paignton, along with the incident command unit from Totnes.

Mr Whitemore said: ‘The family were very lucky. They had taken down the fire alarms because they are in the process of decorating.

‘The family managed to escape out of an upstairs rear window onto a flat roof.

‘Their dog had raised the alarm to the fire which could have been more severe, but smoke had already spread to the first floor.

‘But for the dog, they possibly wouldn’t have been aware of it.’

* Firefighters were called to a potential a carbon monoxide leak at a home in Lower Street, Dartmouth, on Tuesday evening.

One crew responded after an alarm went off in a flat around 7.20pm.

Station commander Neil Whitemore said the property was ventilated and the gas supply isolated.

No trace of the odourless or tasteless gas was detected at the property.