A WARNING has been issued after fire threatened to engulf a house in Keighley last night.

Old furniture and cardboard dumped on the pavement outside a terraced property in the Beechcliffe area caught fire.

Flames were about to start encroaching into the house, in Eel Holme View Street, when firefighters arrived at the scene.

"Fortunately we were in the area anyway at the time so were on scene very quickly," said crew manager David Knox, of Keighley fire station.

"Glass panes on the front of the house had broken with the heat, but we got there just in time to stop the fire spreading inside."

The Keighley crew, supported by firefighters from Bingley and Silsden, wore breathing apparatus and used hose reel jets to bring the blaze under control. And a special high-pressure fan was brought in to clear smoke.

There was also heat damage to a vehicle parked outside the property.

The occupants safely escaped from the house.

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the fire, which is being treated as possible arson.

Crew manager Knox said: "We get a lot of instances of householders leaving mattresses and other items stacked against the outside of their property, which is extremely dangerous should they catch fire. Please, wherever possible, keep any such items and bins away from the house."

Immediately before the incident, at about 11.30pm, the Keighley crew had been called to tackle a burning Ford Maverick in Hollins Lane, Utley.

It is believed the vehicle, which was destroyed in the blaze, had been deliberately set alight.