A FAMILY have been left homeless after fire swept through their semi-detached property in Newton Abbot over the weekend.

A mother and her five-year-old daughter, who raised the alarm, were able to quit their home before the flames took hold and badly damaged the property in Meadow Side, Broadlands.

Panic erupted just before midnight on Saturday when a smoke detector was triggered and woke the youngster.

Fourteen firefighters spent the night tackling the incident which caused extensive damage to the first floor and roof space.

Two crews from Newton Abbot together one from Torquay arrived at the scene to see flames leaping out of the bedroom after the intense heat had blown out a window.

Two hosereel jets and a safety jet were used to contain the blaze and stop the fire spreading to the next-door property, which suffered slight effects of smoke. Four sets of breathing gear were worn by firefighters.

The daughter was checked over by paramedics at the scene for the effects of smoke inhalation.

She was given the all-clear without the need to go to hospital.

The father of the household was at work when the emergency kicked off.

A fire spokesman said the likely cause of the fire was an electrical fault.

Watch manager Phil Scammells said afterwards: ‘Because the fire was so intense we can’t say what electrical item may have been the cause. But we are treating it as as an electrical fault.’

He said the fire quickly spread through the first floor from the front bedroom where the fire started.

The alarm was raised at 11.40pm on Saturday.

Crews did not leave the scene for good until 5am on Sunday.

The family are understood to be living with friends and neighbours till their home has been refurbished.

Phil Scammells said: ‘The immediate community rallied round. They were very supportive.’

The Red Cross fire victims support services team also attended the incident.