A mother led her seven children to safety after a smoke alarm alerted her to a fire in their home.
When firefighters arrived at the house in Layer Road, Colchester, at about noon yesterday, they found the woman and her children already outside.
Two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus and using a hose reel water jet quickly extinguished the flames which had broken out in an upstairs bedroom.
A fire brigade spokesman said it appeared the blaze had been caused by discarded smoking materials in an ashtray.
Although damage was limited the spokesman emphasised the crucial importance of smoke alarms in the early detection of fires.
Three children died in an overnight house fire in Hutton, near Brentwood, last week after batteries were removed from a smoke alarm.
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