The Fire Service in Northern Ireland has said a working smoke alarm saved the lives of five children who were rescued from a house fire in Belfast this morning.
One of the children - a five-year-old girl - is in a critical condition at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
The other children and an adult relative are in a stable condition following the blaze, which happened on the Springfield Road in the west of the city.
The children had been staying with their grandmother who raised the alert after the fire alarm went off.
Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster, William Laverty from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service said: 'The two fathers of the children had rescued four of the children and attempted, unfortunately in vain, to get to the fifth child.
'Because of the thick, acrid smoke they just could not get into the house. She was trapped in a first-floor bedroom. She was very quickly located and transported to hospital,' Mr Laverty said.
Three fire engines and seven ambulances attended. There were 15 firefighters at the scene. They used breathing apparatus to save the fifth child.
Mr Laverty added: 'It was only by the grace of God that they had a smoke alarm. If there had been no working smoke alarm, which costs less than £5, we would be looking at five fatalities today.'
