The Petersen family in Apricot Street are happy to have their ?mother, Joan, with them after she was trapped inside her burning house – and the family cat, Percy, may have played a major part in getting her rescued.

Mrs Petersen was alone at home and cooking in her kitchen on the early morning of Sunday 24 August when a fire started in her bedroom and she was overcome by the smoke.

All that she can remember is that she opened the door of her bedroom and the smoke knocked her out.

Luckily one of the neighbours’ sons, Mr Denzil Coghill, was coming home at that time and noticed the flames through the window.

He ran to the opposite neighbour, Mrs Kathleen Dolan, and she ?rushed out to call for help from the rest of the neighbours in the area.

“While we were waiting for more help, we went to the house and shouted for Aunty Joan, but the way the flames looked, we feared the worst,” she said.

By this time another neighbour, Mr Harry Blanchard, had arrived with a fire extinguisher, and start?ed putting out the fire in the bed?room after breaking the windows.

“Everybody feared the worst for Mrs Petersen at this time, but we continued trying to kill the flames through the window,” he said.

“It was very dark and when we eventually managed to kill some of the flames, we noticed that the cat was coming towards the window and then running back.

“At this point somebody men?tioned that Mrs Petersen must still be in the house if the cat did not want to come out.

“This gave us hope and we ma?naged to knock down the front door with an axe, but the smoke was still very thick in the house, and there was still some flames from the bed?room.

“Carl Jefta, one of the young people in the neighbourhood, looked in, thought he saw something through the smoke and then rushed into the house.

“The next thing he was dragging the unconscious Mrs Petersen from the house to safety in the road.

“He told us that the cat was with Mrs Petersen in the kitchen, lying between her legs.”

Shortly after Mrs Petersen was dragged to safety, the fire brigade and emergency services arrived, putting out the rest of the flames and stabilising Mrs Petersen.

Mr Edward Petersen, her son, who was away for the weekend on a church function, had lots of praise for their neighbours.

“I don’t know what would have happened if our neighbours had not been so vigilant.

“There is such a lot of damage, but we are just happy to have our mother alive.

“We are also grateful for them because everybody is coming together to help us because the house was not insured and we don’t have any electricity to cook.

“While I am thankful that our neighbours are taking care of us during this time, I am still worried for my mother and all that she has lost in the fire. Even her false teeth was destroyed and she is having a difficult time eating without them.

“We are also glad that we are getting some assistance from the councillors in Ward 17, which is in Retreat.

“There was some people here from the city council, but they can’t do anything because the house was bought from them.

“We don’t know how we are going to get the house repaired at present and just hoping that somebody out there will be able to assist us,” he said.

Edward also said that they had not established the cause of the fire. The firemen said that it could have been caused by a cigarette, but his mother insists that she was not in the bedroom or smoking at the time.

Anybody wishing to help the ?family can contact Edward at 073 694 8243.