A FIRE tore through a bungalow causing a family to flee in the middle of the night. 

Neighbours reported seeing smoke pouring out the roof at the home on  Tricketts Lane, Ferndown.

Firefighters ripped tiles off the roof to extinguish the blaze which broke out at around 10.30pm on Wednesday.

After hearing their smoke alarms blaring, the five occupants and their two dogs were alerted to the fire.

Sharon Grout lives at the property with her partner, elderly father, two daughters and two dogs.

She said: “I called the fire brigade, and thankfully, they came when they did, or the whole house would have gone up.

“It all happened so quickly; we just left the house with nothing.”

All of them escaped from the bungalow unharmed.

The family's neighbours came to the rescue, welcoming them into their homes.

Sharon added: “We are so grateful for the neighbours; they were so kind, taking us in and making us a hot drink.”

The fire is believed to have started in the first-floor bathroom and quickly spread to the roof of the house.

A neighbour, who wished to remain unnamed, said: “The fire was contained in the house, but so much smoke was coming from the roof.

“It is a horrible thing to happen at any time, especially so close to Christmas.”

Crews from Ferndown, Redhill Park, Ringwood, Poole fire stations attended and and an aerial ladder platform from Westbourne was deployed.

Eight firefighters wearing breathing apparatus attended the scene and used two hose reel jets and a mainline to extinguish the fire.

The firefighters led Sharon’s 88-year-old father to safety.

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “We received a call at 10.18pm on Wednesday evening with reports of a domestic property fire on Tricketts Lane, Ferndown.”

A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service said: “We were called at 22:29hrs on Wednesday 13 December to an incident on Tricketts Lane, Ferndown.

"We sent one double-crewed land ambulance and an operations officer.”

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said the stop message was received at 11.35pm.