Firefighters have warned about the dangers of not evacuating a building when a fire alarm goes off.

Late on Wednesday night they were called to a hotel in Mona Drive, Douglas.

There had been a small fire in a bedroom in the basement, which the occupants had managed to put out before the fire brigade arrived.

The fire alarm alerted them to the fire.

The fire was caused when clothing hanging on the rear of a door was set alight by a candle.

This caused extensive smoke logging to the flat and communal areas of the building.

One of the occupants was treated for smoke inhalation by the crew before paramedics carried out precautionary checks.

A fire spokesman said: ’This incident highlights the importance of having working fire alarms within a property and having clear evacuation procedures which should be followed during an activation of the alarm.

’On this occasion a number of occupants throughout the property failed to evacuate when the alarm sounded, which could have put could have put them at risk if the incident had not been dealt with quickly.’