Elmari van Schalkwyk, whose husband, Anton, is Telford's head of school, suffered burns to her arms, back and leg, but both girls - aged 5 months and 2 - were unharmed in this week's fire. Her 10-year-old daughter was at school.
Telford deer farm manager Pete Walker said Mrs van Schalkwyk had been comforting her crying baby, when a pot of oil ignited on the stove in the staff house.
Mr Walker and deer tutor Tony Chittock were teaching livestock handling to a group of 14 certificate of agriculture students on Tuesday, when they heard smoke alarms and a distressed Mrs van Schalkwyk.
"It was just one of those freak accidents ... We heard the alarms and her yelling, and we all just tried to get in there as fast as we could."
One of the students, Ethan Grylls, turned off the power, the fire was smothered and other students looked after the two children outside, he said.
While cellphone reception was "patchy" on that part of the farm, a 111 call was made, but Telford staff and students extinguished the blaze and the Fire Service did not attend the incident.
Mr Walker said he had never seen so many people climb a deer fence so quickly. Mr Chittock and the students, who looked after the children, deserved the real recognition, he said.
Mr van Schalkwyk said he was extremely grateful to the 14 students and two staff who helped his wife and children.
"It's a really great thing the students did. When the pressure was on, they really came through for us. My wife and I are so very grateful," Mr van Schalkwyk said.
The family had been overwhelmed by the support from Telford and the wider community, with many people dropping off meals and checking to see how the family was faring.
Telford director Prof Charles Lamb said the incident highlighted the dangers of rural house fires for people home alone, especially mothers with young children.
"It was such a lucky thing the students were close by."
