Manor Farm House care home, Ingoldisthorpe. Picture: Ian Burt

A fire investigation has begun following a blaze at a residential home in Ingoldisthorpe, near Sandringham.

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Five elderly people were rescued from their rooms at Manor Farm House care home in Hill Road after fire broke out in the dining room just before 10.30am yesterday (Sunday).

A crew from Hunstanton, one from Heacham and two from Sandringham were sent and firefighters took over the evacuation from staff, since praised for their actions.

First on the scene was Tim Edwards, station manager at King’s Lynn, who arrived to find smoke billowing across the road.

“On arrival, we had a developing fire in the dining room and five people still inside,” he said. “The staff were doing a magnificent job of evacuating people.

“We took over the evacuation and lead everyone to safety. With that combined effort we have thankfully had a very successful outcome.”

No-one was injured and the evacuees were kept warm with blankets while the crews worked.

“Hypothermia was a concern in this cold weather,” Mr Edwards added. “When it was safe, we moved the residents inside to an undamaged part of the home.”

The dining room suffered significant damage but residents were able to stay at the home last night, a fire service spokesman said.

Firefighters remained at the scene for more than four hours carrying out preliminary investigations and it is thought an electrical fault could be to blame.

Manager Gillian Gibbons said: “I take my hat off to all my staff, they acted brilliantly. They did everything they should have done and it’s down to their quick-thinking that everyone is safe - I have a wonderful team.

“Luckily the fire was contained in one room and there’s not a lot of structural damage. It’s mainly smoke damage.”

Mrs Gibbons also thanked the fire service, police and ambulance crews.

The 17-bedroom home is thought to date back to the 1800s.