A NINETY-year-old Farnham woman has been rescued from a blazing house fire by two quick thinking workmen. Doris Stokes was in the upstairs flat of her council home in Knights Road, Weybourne, when a fire started in the ground floor flat below last Thursday. The wheelchair bound woman living in the downstairs flat managed to escape from the burning building and started to shout for help. Two workers from Margate, Kent who are believed to have been in the area to distribute leaflets, had parked their van in the street and heard the cries for help. The men were told that there may still be somebody in the upstairs flat and after buzzing the property they smashed the side door open and found Doris unaware of the danger below and helped guide her to safety. Doris's daughter Mavis, of Boxalls Road, Aldershot, said: "We're extremely grateful for the way those two lads reacted and my mother is convinced that they really have saved her life. They did a brilliant job. "It was a tremendous shock for her, especially with her being aged 90, but she's fine and just grateful for the way the two workers helped her to get out. "It seems that they were just having a break and sitting in their van when they heard the woman outside shouting 'help, there's a fire' and then they saw the smoke billowing from the house. "My mother could smell the smoke but she didn't immediately think there was any kind of emergency. She assumed the smell must have been from cooking or building work. "Even when the men started to ring her buzzer she didn't realise what was happening downstairs. "It was only when they burst through the door that she realised there was a fire in the flat below. They were able to calm her down and guide her down the stairs to safety." The incident, which happened last Thursday, is being treated as arson by Farnham Police who are still waiting to talk to the ground floor resident. The woman, who has not been named, received a minor burn to her leg and was treated for smoke inhalation. She is currently being detained for assessment at Frimley Park Hospital under the Mental Health Act. Doris was treated for shock but otherwise escaped unhurt. She is currently living with her daughter in Aldershot while she anxiously waits to hear from the council if she can return to the fire-damaged property. It took 20 minutes for the firefighters, wearing breathing apparatus , to get the fire under control after they received the alarm at 12-54 pm. Peter Stratford, watch commander for Farnham Fire Brigade, said: "We had a call just before 1 pm and had two appliances in attendance. "When we arrived there were flames coming out of the windows to the front and rear of the property. "Two members of the public saw that there was still an occupant in the upstairs flat and they kicked in the door and led the occupants to safety. "It's extremely lucky that nobody was seriously hurt in this incident." One neighbour said: "We're all pretty shocked by what happened but thankfully nobody got hurt. "The first thing I knew was smoke coming past the house and then I looked across and saw flames coming out of the downstairs windows and the woman in the wheelchair outside."
