A FAMILY are lucky to be alive after escaping a house fire today.

Two 15-year-old boys were taken to hospital after breathing in smoke from the blaze on Teesside which came close to tragedy.

The two youngsters were sleeping in a loft extension at the terraced house in Wollaton Road, Billingham, where the fire which destroyed 50 per cent of the home, started.

"The father tried to put the fire out, but was beaten back by the smoke,'' explained Dennis Lightowler, a Stockton based crew manager with Cleveland Fire Brigade.

Seven people managed to escape the fire, a family of six and a teenage boy - one of the 15-year-olds - who had been sleeping over at the house.

Mr Lightowler said: "They were all very lucky. I did not expect as much fire damage which was possibly the result of the fire having been burning for sometime.'' The two boys were taken to the University Hospital of North Tees for a precautionary check up for smoke inhalation.

"The smoke woke them they have told me and they left the property,'' Mr Lightowler said.

The cause of the fire, which started in the converted loft, is today under investigation.

The house is fitted smoke detectors - but for the new loft conversion.

There was 50 per cent fire damage, 20 per cent heat damage and 30 per cent smoke damage to the house, caused by the blaze.