Woman saved from house fire by pet cat

Feline woke its owner when the fire broke out by 'meowing in her face'. There was no smoke alarm in the house

File image: A woman's life was saved by her cat when it woke her up during a fire in an east London home (AFP/Getty Images)

A woman’s life was saved by her pet cat when a fire broke out at a house in London.

The home had no fire alarms fitted and the woman was only woken by the cat “meowing in her face”, the London Fire Brigade said.

She then managed to leave the property in Limehouse, east London before fires crew arrived in the early hours of Friday morning.

The quick thinking feline, along with two other cats and two dogs also made it out unscathed.

The woman was treated at scene after inhaling smoke and firefighters took about 30 minutes to put out the blaze, which damaged the basement.

Watch Manager Neil Dickinson, who was at the scene, told the BBC: “There was no smoke alarm in the house and the owner only woke up because her cat was meowing in her face.

“Meowing cats are no replacement for working smoke alarms and had she not woken up, this incident could have had tragic consequences.”

He added: “The woman did the right thing in closing the door to the kitchen where the fire was, which contained the blaze.

“The woman, two dogs and three cats all got out safely.”