LUCKY-TO-BE alive fire victims Dorothy and Ian Roddie are urging Bolton people to add another New Year's Resolution to their list.

The Halliwell couple lost everything but their lives in a blaze at the start of the New Year and say 1999 is the year every house in Bolton should be fitted with a smoke alarm.

And they are supporting a "New Year - New Battery" campaign by firefighters to persuade those who do have smoke alarms to buy new batteries on the same day every year.

Terrible

"I hope people will learn from the terrible experience we had," said Mrs Roddie. As reported in the BEN last Monday, the couple jumped for their lives after becoming trapped by flames in the bedroom of their home in Nebraska Street, Halliwell.

But firefighters say they had a lucky escape because the smoke would have put most people into a deeper sleep and few would have had the strength or know how to smash down a double glazed window to get out and raise the alarm.

Mrs Roddie still has difficulty sleeping because of the ordeal. She said: "I was very frightened and in a bit of a panic - it was dreadful and I just did not know what to do.

"But if we had had more warning we might have been able to get out down the stairs. Certainly the smoke would not have been so bad."

Mr Roddie warned people to consider how they would feel if they lost everything in a blaze before being tempted to put off buying a new battery for their alarm or taking the battery out to stop it going off every time they burned the toast. He said: "At the end of this we might have a nicely painted house but it will never be our home again. A home is not about the things that are in it but the memory of what you were doing when you bought it.

"You can never really replace things you bought on honeymoon or holidays."

Like many Bolton residents, the couple were in particular danger because they lived in a typical two-up-two-down terrace which firefighters say are particularly prone to rapid fire development, making a reliable alarm a must.

Senior firefighter Brian Wiggins said: "Other people in the same situation may have perished, it is only down to Mr Roddie's quick thinking that they got out of there alive."

And he urged people to make changing the batteries an annual event on a memorable day such as New Year's Day or the day they take the Christmas decorations down.

Mr Roddie escaped by throwing a portable gas fire at the double glazed window but most people would not have such a heavy object to hand . . . or the strength to throw it with enough force. Similar

Firefighters suggest people in similar situations try and use a little know how before resorting to brute force and hit the bottom corners of the glass with a sharp object or a heavy, blunt instrument.

A large screwdriver or small hammer would be ideal but few people have these in the bedroom so firemen suggest trying to use bedside lamps or ornaments.

Mr Wiggins added: "Don't panic and start hitting the middle of the glass because this is usually ineffective."

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