TWO people and a puppy were rescued from a burning building by fire crews.

But a dog and a puppy could not be saved from the house fire in Wilkinson Close, Angmering, yesterday.

The blaze broke out shortly before 10am with fire crews from across the area rushing to the scene after being alerted by the house’s fire alarm.

They arrived to find a large fire in the first floor of a house which was quickly spreading to the roof.

The Argus:

Crews entered the building and quickly found one injured resident, who had hurt themselves as they tried to rescue another person in the house who had become trapped.

They were taken to safety as some members of the team continued to fight through the fire to reach the second stranded resident.

They found them, trapped in their bedroom on the first floor, and acted quickly to release them.

They were then evacuated and handed into the care of crews from the South East Coast Ambulance Service.

The Argus:

They were then taken to hospital to receive treatment for smoke inhalation and burns they had suffered during the dramatic rescue.

Having saved the two residents, fire crews also tried to help the household’s three dogs, tow being very young puppies.

The team was able to scoop one of the pups to safety, but the two other dogs died in the fire.

The rescued puppy was given oxygen using a specialist piece of breathing apparatus designed specifically for dogs - which is carried on all West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service fire engines.

The Argus:

Adrian Murphy, the fire service’s area manager for protection, said: “Thanks to the telecare smoke alarm we were alerted quickly which meant we were able to be on scene within a matter of minutes and rescue the couple.

“This goes to show the value of having a working smoke alarm, especially one linked to a telecare system.

“We would like to wish these people a very speedy recovery.”

Sussex Police also attended the scene.

The Argus:

A spokesman said: “Two people have been injured in a house fire in Angmering.

“Firefighters alerted police to the fire in Wilkinson Close at 10.08am.

“A man and a woman were taken to hospital for treatment for burns and smoke inhalation.

“The fire is not being treated as suspicious.”