A FAMILY of six escaped without injury from a house fire in Carterton.

A mother and her five children managed to flee the property in Briary Way on Saturday morning before firefighters arrived.

Smoke was seen coming out of a bedroom window at the three-storey semi-detached house.

Four fire engines were sent to the scene from Bampton, Witney, Burford and Abingdon, along with two specialist vehicles.

The fire was last night not being treated as suspicious.

Group manager John Nixon, who was in charge of the incident, said: “The firefighters were confronted with conditions that were extremely hostile and difficult to work in. However, crews inside the house managed to bring the fire under control.

“My initial fear was that the fire was just about to break into the roof which then could have engulfed both the affected property and neighbouring houses, but the initial actions taken prevented this happening.

“The children were aged between two years old and 11 – so it is lucky it wasn’t in the dead of night.”

The family was alerted to the fire by smoke alarms.

The fire service said the family found somewhere else to go overnight and would need to be rehomed.