POLICE officers who saved a pregnant woman, two children and an elderly couple from a burning building were commended on Friday.

PC Simon Fretwell and PC Sasha Hubert rescued the residents of flats in Shaftesbury Avenue, South Harrow, after a chip pan fire filled the building with smoke last year.

They were recognised for their bravery by Chief Superintendent Dal Babu, borough commander for Harrow, in a ceremony at the Shree Kutch Satsang Swaminarayan Temple, in Kenton Road.

PC Fretwell said: “The whole place and the downstairs especially was covered in smoke and the ceiling was melting.

“There were two elderly people, one who couldn't walk without his crutches but we got everyone out. They were all suffering from smoke inhalation.

“We couldn't see, the whole top flat was covered in smoke and we could hardly breath.”

He added: “You do it but you don't think about it. You know there's a risk but there's other people there, especially if there's young children.”

The flat had no smoke alarms fitted and the officers fear the consequences could have been even worse if they had not been flagged down by a member of the public who had seen the smoke.

PC Fretwell said: “I don't know why there were no smoke alarms, the fire brigade do say those are the worst types of fires.

“It could have been worse, the whole place could have gone up. It could have been fatal because the elderly couple were just sitting there watching Bargain Hunt at the time.”

Nick O’Reilly, the London Fire Brigade’s borough commander for Harrow, said: “There is nothing more devastating for firefighters than to find out that someone has died or been seriously injured because a fire broke out as they slept.

“Smoke and fumes won’t wake you up. It’s exactly the opposite, as a few breaths of smoke can cause you to lose consciousness.

“Don’t let this happen to you or your family, when a £5 alarm from your local supermarket or DIY store could prevent it.”