Overview
- The blaze, which broke out Thursday night in the utility/kitchen area of the Wigston home, sent flames and smoke through the ground floor and left those rooms charred.
- A daughter five miles away was alerted by her mother’s smart doorbell and used the intercom feed to identify neighbours and tell them where a key box was located.
- Two neighbours went inside, found 87-year-old Phyllis Day asleep upstairs, and led her down the stairs to safety while others assisted and the fire service arrived.
- Day, who has Alzheimer’s and had removed her hearing aids, is now staying with her daughter while repairs are arranged and the house remains damaged.
- Leicestershire Fire and Rescue warned that entering burning buildings is dangerous and investigators said an electrical fault in the kitchen or utility area is the likely cause, a point that highlights gaps in fire safety for vulnerable, hard-of-hearing residents and the growing role of doorbell cameras in emergency alerts.