A smoke alarm and a quick-acting neighbour were the saviours in an Alexandra fire which was "minutes away from being a very different story''.
The Alexandra Volunteer Fire Brigade was alerted to a blaze at a flat on Royal Tce at 11.34am on Saturday after wheelie bins outside the property caught fire.
Station officer Doug McLellan said it was caused by hot ashes in one of the bins which may have been stored there for days.
The fire, which spread to the other two wheelie bins, broke a window and melted curtains.
"There's hardly any black stuff on the inside, I don't know how the net curtains didn't catch.''
The two parents and young girl who lived there were away at the time, he said.
The blaze set off a fire alarm inside the house which alerted neighbours, who called the fire brigade.
One neighbour rushed over to the property and used a garden hose to fight the fire.
By the time firefighters arrived the fire was under control, he said.
"We just used a bit of water and foam and then opened all the windows and aired the place out with a fan.''
Firefighters were at the scene for about 30 minutes.
People should wait for ashes to cool before putting them in bins, Mr McLellan said.
"There's nothing wrong with putting the hose on it.''
Firefighter Mark Briggs said the family was "very lucky''.
"It was minutes away from being a very different story.
"What we want to get across is the importance of having a working fire alarm for the safety of you and your property.''
