Smoke alarms and vigilant neighbours saved an elderly Northcote woman who lay helpless for more than an hour while her flat filled with smoke, says the Fire Service.
Betty Goodwin, aged 84, was watching television at her Greenslade Cres home on Tuesday night when she stood up and tripped over her heater.
She could not get up. The heater began burning a hole in the floor and the flat slowly filled with smoke down to floor level.
Mrs Goodwin told family members that the last thing she remembered before blacking out was hearing someone banging on the door.
Neighbours in an adjoining flat heard smoke alarms. A 27-year-old man bashed the door down and he and his partner hauled Mrs Goodwin to safety.
She is recovering in hospital.
Alarms save pensioner
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