Courageous escape

A DENIA woman escaped a house fire by climbing from her balcony to a neighbour’s.

After the gas fire in the 60-year-old woman’s apartment burst into flames, she had the presence of mind to move the canister to the balcony to prevent an explosion.

She then found that she was cut off by the flames from reaching her only escape route, the door. 

Fortunately, her next-door neighbour heard her cries and helped her cross from her own balcony to his.

At one point, she was hanging in space but negotiated the dividing wall between the apartments and remained sufficiently calm to clamber over to the adjoining property.

Firemen took two hours to extinguish the fire completely, and the entire six-storey building in Avenida del Marquesat had to be evacuated.  The woman’s flat was gutted and an adjoining property affected but fortunately no-one was injured or affected by smoke inhalation.