'They were stood at the window banging on the glass': Mum recalls horror of terrified children trapped inside burning house

17.02.2022 - 20:53 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk

A mum of two has recalled the horrific moment her children were trapped inside their grandmother’s home as it burst into flames.

Max and Madeleine Ohamara were playing inside the house with their cousin on Leicester Road in Higher Broughton when a chest freezer in the dining room caused a fire due to an electrical fault.

The children were upstairs at the time and were unable to get out due to the large amount of smoke already in the property.

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Their grandmother couldn't reach them and desperately tried to shout up to them to leave the house.

Fire crews from Broughton, Manchester Central, Agecroft and Philips Park stations quickly arrived to handle the incident, which occurred two years ago on October 27, 2019.

Mum Natasha Wilde said that when crews first arrived at the scene, they could see Max and Madeleine, who were aged three and eight at the time, banging on the windows trying to escape.

“Broughton firefighters were the first to arrive and they saw my children stood at the front window banging on the glass,” Natasha recalled.

“Two firefighters went into the house to fight the fire, while another firefighter went upstairs he started to bring out the children.

“Grandma was helped out by a neighbour. The fire was extinguished but the house was ruined and couldn’t be lived in for 14 months.”

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus brought the fire under control using hose reels and a positive pressure ventilation fan cleared the smoke.

Following the house fire, smoke alarms were fitted in the property by fire crews.

“These things can happen to anyone,” Natasha said.

“I am careful now – I never leave a