A FAMILY fled from their home following a "severe" bedroom blaze in Colchester.

Three fire crews from Colchester and Brightlingsea were called to St Andrews Avenue at about 6.05pm on Thursday.

The blaze was on the first floor of the semi-detached house.

The occupants, a couple with a young child, were safely out of the property when crews arrived.

Station manager Danny Partridge praised the family for their actions.

He said: "Crews, including two firefighters who recently completed their training, were faced with a severe fire in the bedroom.

"They did a really good job in quickly getting it under control and clearing the smoke.

"Thankfully the occupants did exactly the right thing when they found the fire.

"They closed the bedroom door, got out, stayed out and called 999.

"Because they shut the door, the fire damage was restricted to the bedroom and it minimised the smoke damage to the rest of the first floor."

An investigation will be carried out to establish the cause of the fire, which was put out shortly before 7.20pm.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said that although the property had smoke alarms, they were not sounding.

"The incident acts as a reminder to check your smoke alarms are working," a spokesman said.

"If you or someone you know doesn't have working smoke alarms, we can provide and fit smoke alarms free of charge."

To book a home safety visit, call 0300 303 0088 or book online at www.essex-fire.gov.uk/book.