TWO men and a dog were moments away from death after a blaze broke out in their flat.

The fire gutted the firstfloor flat above Best Foodstore and Off Licence, in Old Hall Road, Delves Lane, Consett, County Durham, on Friday evening.

Neighbours tried to rescue the two men in the flat, but it took firefighters in breathing apparatus and stab-proof vests, which guard against broken glass and wood, to get to the pair.

A 53-year-old man who was rescued was still in the University Hospital of North Durham, in Durham City, yesterday receiving treatment after smoke inhalation agitated an existing medical condition.

A 42-year-old man was released from hospital on Saturday.

Paul Young, who lives opposite the shop, along with neighbour Jason Johnson tried to rescue the pair, after his partner, Sarah Graham, spotted the fire at about 7pm.

Mr Young, a chef who celebrated his 25th birthday on Saturday, and Mr Johnson opened the flat door but were beaten back by the flames.

Mr Young, remembering his training from his time in the Army, grabbed a curtain, soaked it in water at the neighbouring kebab shop, and wrapped it round Mr Johnson who again tried to climb the stairs.

Mr Young, a father of one with another child due in March, then climbed onto a porch roof below a bedroom window where one of the flat’s occupants was calling for help.

Mr Young said: “The man was hanging out of the window and I was trying to help him out, but couldn’t move him. It wasn’t long before the smoke started affecting me.”

Mr Young stayed with the man until firefighters arrived, at which point he returned to the ground and saved a dog that was running up and down the flat stairs.

Station manager Chris Hockaday said the severity of the fire meant the two men would have died had they been in the flat much longer.

He said: “They were very lucky. They were barely conscious when we got to them and had suffered a lot of smoke inhalation.

“It was a very dangerous place, the ceiling was collapsing on our firefighters while they were in there.”

Police are not treating the fire as suspicious and the fire service has launched an investigation.

999 control room staff help fire-trapped youngster with life-saving advice

FIREFIGHTERS rescued a boy and a woman after a blaze broke out in their flat on Sunday morning.

The youngster dialled 999 from his bedroom in the house in Gladstone Street, Consett, County Durham, and was given advice by the fire brigade control operator about staying safe until fire crews arrived.

After arrival, firefighters led the youngster to safety and they located and rescued the woman, believed to be the boy’s mother, who had been overcome by smoke.

Both were treated at the scene for the effects of smoke inhalation before being taken to the University Hospital of North Durham, in Durham City.

Three crews – two from Consett, the other from High Handenhold – tackled the fire, which broke out shortly before 1am.

The brigade’s spokesman, fire station manager Steve Wharton, said the youngster made the 999 call.

He was unable to get out of the flat himself because of the smoke and was worried about his mother, who was in another room.

“Our control room staff are trained for that eventuality and kept the young man on the phone and gave him advice about keeping low down and shutting doors and trying to establish his location. They were able to tell the crews where he was and the breathing apparatus team was able to get to him quickly and get him out.”

A second team found the woman and carried her to safety and administered oxygen therapy.

Mr Wharton praised the work of control room staff and the fire crews, saying they had done a very professional job.

“It was a really lucky escape for the occupants. Everyone did everything right.”

The cause of the blaze is being investigated, although there are no initial signs that it was started deliberately.