FIRE experts have praised the actions of a Swindon dad who saved the lives of his young family and his 91-year-old mother after a fire ripped through his home.

The man – known locally as Mr Lam – managed to get his wife, three children and his elderly mother out of their burning home in Dulverton Avenue, Park North, after a wok filled with oil caught fire in the early hours of the morning.

It is thought someone in the home had been cooking at about 4.30am when the oil in the wok caught fire and, after a failed attempt by the father to extinguish the blaze, it set the whole kitchen alight.

After frantically waking up his family, he was mid-way through getting them out when the fire caused the electrics in the mid-terrace to trip and so he had to carry his elderly mother out of the house in the dark.

Alan Harper, group manager for Swindon fire station, said there was no doubt the man saved his family as the flames were so intense that anyone left in the house would have died.

He said: “When our crews arrived there the flames were leaping out of the front door and the windows – it was a very fierce fire.

“What had happened is what we call a flashover – where the flames reach a certain point and just explode.

“Luckily, this gentleman managed to get his family out of the house as they would not have survived this fire.

“The downstairs of the property is completely uninhabitable and the upstairs would be completely damaged by smoke and fire.

“The problem was the oil in the wok got too hot and caught fire – it had been left unattended.

“Also, there were no fire alarms in the property so this would have woken up the family and wouldn’t have needed the father to run around getting everyone up.”

Crews from Swindon and Stratton were called to the fire and were working at the scene from about 4.30am until 7.40am.

The fire had spread from the kitchen into the lounge and flames were seen leaping out from doors, windows and vents at the property.

When the blaze was finally brought under control, the house was deemed uninhabitable.

Windows and doors have since been boarded up.

Fire fighters have said that although oil fires are unusual in Swindon, they can be avoided by not cooking at a high heat, and not leaving pans and fryers unattended.

All fire alarms should be fitted with working batteries. For more information visit www.wfb.org.uk.