A woman has praised her sister for saving her life and that of her brother-in-law after a blaze broke out at their Bradford home today.

Rehana Latif, 30, of Washington Street, Girlington, was rescued by her sister after she discovered the fire at about 5.15am.

Shabana Latif, 34, who was woken by the smoke, shouted for her husband, Syed Afsar, 40, and sister to flee the house after seeing thick black smoke at the top of the stairs.

Firefighters said the three were lucky to escape uninjured from the blaze, which had spread from the kitchen to the living room and was moving upstairs.

Miss Latif, an administrator at a bank in Bradford, said: “I didn’t smell anything. I might not have known what was happening until the flames would have got right up the stairs. It could have been a lot worse, maybe we would have been trapped.”

Watch manager at Fairweather Green fire station Ronnie Goldwater said it was extremely fortunate that Miss Latif’s sister was woken by the smoke.

He said the cause of the fire was under investigation, although it was not believed to be suspicious. An electrical fault in a fridge-freezer could be to blame.

The family were today waiting for their insurer to sort out emergency accommodation.

Miss Latif said: “At the moment we are just really in shock.

“We are really frightened to be honest because we have never experienced anything like that in our lives.”

Mr Goldwater said the house was fitted with a smoke alarm but it was not in working order.

e-mail: james.rush@telegraphandargus.co.uk