A FATHER-of-three has told how he and his family scrambled to safety through a first-floor window in a frantic bid to escape a fire.
The house fire, in Burton, was one of three serious blazes that broke out in a day of drama on Thursday.
A family holidaying in America had to be told on the telephone that their luxury Poole mansion had been gutted by fire.
And a pregnant woman living in Springbourne believes that her pet dog saved her life when her flat block caught fire.
At their home in Burton, Paul Hicks, 28, his partner Cyndi Rostigina, 26, and their daughters Chloe, nine, Paige, six, and Abby, three, were woken by the sound of their two smoke alarms just before 1.45am on Thursday.
Paul jumped 15ft from a window before Cyndi passed the children down to him and then she escaped herself.
He said: "We were woken to thick black smoke and could see barely anything.
"I came running out of the bedroom, saw all the smoke, just forgot everything, went and got the kids.
"Thank God we had the smoke alarms or I can safely say we wouldn't be here today."
Crews from Christchurch and Ferndown attended the fire at Chestnut Way, Burton, which is believed to have been caused by a cigarette butt which was not properly extinguished, setting the sofa in the lounge alight and damaging most of the property.
Meanwhile, a family of four, holidaying in New York, are devastated after learning their £1.5m Branksome Park mansion has been gutted by fire.
Mark Griffiths, wife Caroline and daughters Chloe, 19, and Charlotte, 13, were due to set sail back to Southampton only hours after taking the phone call.
Mrs Griffiths' brother Eddie Argyle called their hotel at 4am to tell them their home and possessions were all destroyed.
Firefighters, who for long periods at the scene feared the family was trapped inside the plush Western Avenue property, were moments from starting a search for bodies when news of the family's whereabouts was confirmed.
And a pet dog has been credited with saving the lives of a pregnant woman and a toddler after he alerted them to a fire in their block of flats.
Firefighters led six people to safety from the property on Windham Road, Springbourne, Bournemouth, after the fire broke out at around 10.15am on Thursday.
Lauren Butler, 22, who is 28 weeks pregnant, said: "He Tyson the dog was whining at the door and walking around in circles.
"I went to the door. There was smoke pouring through. I put a damp towel at the door. I learned that from the TV."
Lauren had her partner's three-year-old son Malakhai Pitt with her, an eight-week-old kitten called Tigs and Tyson, an eight-month-old Boxer.
She called out of her first-floor window to ask a taxi driver to dial 999.
Firefighters clambered up a ladder through her window while colleagues tackled the blaze on the ground floor.
Lauren's partner Kelly Pitt, 24, was returning home with groceries when she saw firefighters in breathing apparatus tackling the fire under the ground-floor stair.
Kelly, who also has a one-and-a-half-month-old son, said: "If it was not for Tyson who was growling and barking... the dog saved our lives."
