A smoke alarm is credited for preventing serious injuries or damage in a Hastings house fire this morning.
Two occupants in a Pepper St house were woken by their alarm shortly before 5am as a fire broke out in their kitchen ceiling.
They were able to get out safely and call fire fighters.
"It really did make a difference," Hastings senior station office Mike Peachey said of the alarm.
"If they didn't have one they wouldn't have woken up and the fire would have been a lot bigger.
