THREE pet cats died in a Chilwell house fire in which seven people narrowly escaped with their lives.
The fire started in the upstairs bedroom of a house in Oak Acres at around 2am this morning.
A woman and three children got out but a man and another woman were trapped upstairs as the fire burned in the room next to them.
Watch manager Tony Cleminson of Highfields Fire Station said crews led a third woman out who was downstairs in the house trying to get to the couple.
He said: "It was a severe fire in a back bedroom and smoke was coming from all the windows in the first floor."
Firefighters used a ladder to rescue the couple trapped upstairs.
Three pet cats in the house died after inhaling smoke and four of the seven people were treated for minor smoke inhalation at the Queen's Medical Centre.
No-one else was seriously hurt.
The cause of the fire is under investigation but it is thought to have been started by accident.
North Group Manager Bryn Coleman added: "It emphasises the need for everyone to have an escape plan and to know what to do if a fire does break out.
"The firefighters and control room staff worked quickly and diligently to save these people. If they hadn't, the outcome would have been a lot worse."
