03/08/2005

Man 'lucky' to escape house blaze

A man has had a lucky escape after a fire engulfed his home in Co Down on Tuesday.

Eyewitnesses described how they saw the man jump from a first floor window of the blazing house at Kingshall Avenue in Newcastle at about 8pm.

The heat is believed to have been so intense that ground floor windows exploded.

A spokesperson for the Fire and Rescue Service said the man was "extremely lucky".

"It was very, very intense fire. It took out the living room, kitchen, bedrooms, floors, doors and window frames, right through into the roof space," he said.

Forensic scientists are to examine the scene of the blaze which at one point threatened to spread to adjacent houses in the street.

(MB/SP)

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