TWO brave Redditch paramedics ran into a blazing building after they saw a mother and child standing behind a window on the burning third floor.

Redditch ambulance staff received a call at 9.15am last Wednesday to a fire in Eunal Court in Crabbs Cross.

The flat did not have a working smoke alarm.

The first crew arrived at the housing association building in about three minutes, before firefighters had reached the scene.

Paramedics Sue Hill and Tracey Stephens made a rapid risk assessment and decided they would enter the building and get the occupants out.

Following this, fire crews and a second ambulance arrived.

There were seven people in the third-floor flat, including the mother and her 19-month-old son, who were airlifted to Selly Oak Hospital to be treated for burns.

Five others, including two children, were taken to the Alexandra Hospital suffering smoke inhalation.

Ambulance crew team leader Ian Ritchie said: "Praise must be given to paramedics Sue Hill and Tracey Stevens for the way they acted.

"We often have to make quick judgements on whether to enter situations like this without fire crews and they made a good, level-headed decision.

"It was initially believed the young child had suffered up to 30 per cent burns but it's not as bad as we had feared."

A Redditch fire service spokesman said: "These people were lucky. The situation could have been much worse because of the lack of smoke alarms.

"The housing association had installed them but some weren't working because batteries were removed or the alarms themselves had been removed,

''The housing association is going to put more in.

"We recommend alarms are put throughout buildings and batteries should be replaced when flat."