A fire which damaged two rooms of an Alexandra home on Friday night underlined the importance of having working smoke alarms, Alexandra Fire Brigade members said.
Station officer John Mawhinney said the brigade was called to the Kenmare St house at 8.15pm on Friday and spent about three hours containing the blaze.
The fire damaged walls and ceilings in the lounge and kitchen.
Mr Mawhinney said the smoke alarm in the house did not have batteries, but a barking dog in the lounge alerted the two occupants to the fire.
Mr Mawhinney said it was important smoke alarms were working.
Roofing iron was removed so firemen could tackle the blaze from the roof, and six firefighters used breathing apparatus to help contain the fire from inside.
The fire appeared to have started in a mantelpiece above a fireplace.
The fireplace housed a log burner.
