FIREFIGHTERS rescued two casualties from a blazing home during a life-or-death rescue mission.

Smashing through the door with a sledgehammer, the crew battled the flames before searching the smoke-filled house and recovering a man and a child.

Except it was all fake – the exercise was just a drill, and took place in the two-storey detached house in Highworth Road which is set to be demolished by McLaren, the company building the giant B&Q warehouse nearby.

But before bulldozers move in, they offered it to the fire service as a training ground.

The house was filled with “smoke” – or dry ice – and team of 15 firefighters turned up with blue lights flashing, to tackle a blaze on the second floor, created by a gas-powered flame-thrower.

Then they recovered two “casualties” (a fabric doll weighing around 70kg, and a child-sized one weighing 25kg) and put them in the “casualty holding area” - a muddy puddle by the front door.

Sue Foord, 33, crew manager at Stratton, said: “We practice in smoky buildings all the time. This adds a bit more realism to it. They’ve got no idea about the layout in there whatsoever.”

Crew manager Shaun Milton, 25, of Queensfield, Stratton, said it was a valuable drill for breaking in fresh-faced firefighters.

He said: “There’s a few floorboards missing so there was a chance of falling through the floor, but we were quite lucky.

“We’ve got two who are just out of basic training course, so this is their first real life experience.

“It’s good for them to get their teeth into.”

But Andy Ings, 55,living opposite, said: “It’s good for rehearsal purposes, but it’s a shame to have it pulled down.

“With a little thought you could still sell it for £350,000.”

The house, which was surrounded by an orchard until October, is expected to be demolished in around two weeks, as the site is converted into an industrial estate.