There is no doubt that the rescue of a man from a fire at an end-terrace house makes for dramatic reading.

The desperate occupant, dressed only in a towel, managed to get out on to an upstairs window ledge and raise the alarm.

A quick-thinking neighbour dashed for a ladder to mount a rescue, but was beaten to it by the arrival of firefighters.

They brought the victim to safety and he is, today, being treated in hospital for smoke inhalation.

It is clear that this was a dangerous situation and one which could have had a very different, even tragic, outcome.

These days, for a variety of reasons, there seem to be fewer lives lost in house fires than was once the case.

No-one, however, should allow that to lull them into a false sense of security.

As this instance shows, house fires can and do still happen – and they have the potential to kill.

That is why people should protect themselves from such risks, and one of the best ways to do that is to make sure their home is fitted with smoke detectors – and that they are working. It is said the ones installed in this house were not. While the precious time they could have saved would no doubt have been welcome in this case, in others it could mean the difference between life and death.