TWO men have been hailed as heroes by the fire service after they acted quickly to guide a mother and her six-year-old daughter to safety as flames engulfed their kitchen.

Darren Peach and Adrian Bailey were working in their Keith Jones bookshop off Hinton Road in Bournemouth town centre when fire alarms went off shortly before 5pm on Thursday.

They searched the adjoining building, Ellerslie Chambers, and found Ionela Boghitoi – who was taken to hospital to be treated for burns and smoke inhalation – screaming for help.

Darren told the Daily Echo: “She was shouting from the top floor. I went up and she was in her front doorway and she was shouting ‘Please help me, I have a fire’.

“She had obviously been trying to fight it with a rug, which was also alight. The smoke was too thick and I said we had to get out.”

Darren said Adrian managed to put the burning rug out before the pair led Ionela and daughter Alessia, six, out of the building.

Shaken husband Marius, who was out at the time of the blaze, thanked the pair for their help.

Firefighters from Springbourne and Westbourne were called to the scene.

Watch manager Stu Jeneson confirmed that the fire started in a chip pan.

He added: “There was a fire in the top floor flat. I went upstairs to investigate and met with the shop owners who tackled the fire with an extinguisher.

“The occupier and her daughter were coming out. The occupier was suffering from smoke inhalation and she had burnt herself.

“The little girl was shocked but OK.

“It’s a big pat on the back for them (Darren and Adrian) for investigating. The underlying message is that water and hot oil don’t mix and don’t try to tackle it yourself, get out.”