A SEVERE blaze tore through a Quarry Bank house last night (Sunday, July 26) with the family and two dogs escaping unharmed.

The fire, which started at around 6pm, engulfed both the ground and first floors of a semi-detached house in Thornhill Road.

West Midlands Fire Service was alerted just after 6pm, sending three engines to the scene.

Once the fire was extinguished, firefighters discovered the blaze had damaged 75 per cent of the ground floor and 25 per cent of the first.

An adjacent property had also been damaged due to the smoke.

Fire service spokesman Matthew Smith said: “We received a call at 6.08pm on Sunday evening reporting an incident involving a severe house fire on the ground and first floors of a semi-detached house in Thornhill Road.

“75 per cent of ground floor and 25 per cent of first floor had been damaged due to the fire.

“100 per cent of the property had smoke damage. An adjacent property also damaged by smoke.

“We had three engines and 13 firefighters attend the fire, with six firefighters tackling the blaze wearing breathing apparatus and using two hose reel jets and a covering jet.

“Two dogs had been rescued prior to the arrival of the firefighters, who isolated the gas and electric.”

Nobody was injured due the fire. Its cause is currently unknown and an investigation has been launched by the fire service.