A YOUNG girl who awoke in the early hours of the morning to find her bedroom alight probably saved the lives of her family, say firefighters.

Alexandra Baker, nine, was sharing the room with her brother, Damien, six, and friend, Gemma Beaumont, 11, when the fire broke out.

Because of a power cut at the family's home in Ross Crescent, north Watford, her mum, Lesley, had earlier lit a candle and put it on top of a television set in the room.

The heat of the burned down wax set light to the plastic casing of the portable set. Within minutes, a collection of soft toys in the corner of the room was ablaze.

Mrs Baker, whose eldest son, Oliver, was asleep downstairs, said: "The children said they couldn't sleep without a light so I left the candle on top of the television, thinking it would be okay because it had a metal casing.

"I was asleep when the girls came in and said there was something wrong with the candle. I went into their room and flames were up to the ceiling.

"I grabbed Damien out of bed and got them all downstairs. I filled up a washing up bowl and ran back up and chucked it over the flames."

Firefighters from Watford and Garston arrived at the house just after 3.25am.

Sub officer Mr Chris Martindale, of Garston Fire Station, said: "It was fortunate the little girl woke up when she did. This home did not have a smoke alarm and, perhaps if there had been, the family would have been warned of a problem a lot sooner."

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