Firefighters were called to tackle a "severe" blaze which broke out in a bedroom of a house in Colchester.
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service was called to the scene in St Andrews Avenue shortly after 6pm on Thursday.
Two fire crews from Colchester and one from Brightlingsea attended the blaze.
The occupants of the home, a couple with a young child, were safely out of the property when crews arrived, despite smoke alarms failing to sound.
Station Manager Danny Partridge said: "Crews, including two firefighters who recently completed their training, were faced with a severe fire in the bedroom.
"They did a really good job in quickly getting it under control and clearing the smoke.
"Thankfully the occupants did exactly the right thing when they found the fire; they closed the bedroom door, got out, stayed out and called 999.
"Because they shut the door, the fire damage was restricted to the bedroom and it minimised the smoke damage to the rest of the first floor."
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