Church worker Anne Balfour saved Witham's ancient parish church of St Nicolas from fire.
Mrs Balfour, of The Old Vicarage, was preparing the 13th century church for her weekly service for under fives when she smelled smoke on Monday morning.
"I thought perhaps it was the residue of a weekend bonfire," she said. "Then I was horrified to see smoke pouring out of the choir vestry
"A friend dialled 999 on her mobile phone, and we went round closing all the doors to confine it."
"The fire engines were here very quickly. God was on our side that day!
The fire could have been disastrous if it had started at any other time, said the mum who has three children in the church choir
The church was normally kept locked except for services and the fire would have had time to spread
"It was very fortunate that the Chatterbox group, where mums bring their under fives for a short service, met at that time.
"We opened up the side door of the church and were there at the right time to avert disaster."
The fire damaged a cupboard, and a sink unit. Smoke stained the room and the choir vestments, but no structural damage was caused
Church warden Jenny Robinson added: "But for Anne's prompt alarm and the speed of the fire service it could have been a very different story. They were absolutely excellent, thank God."
She added that the cause of the fire was a mystery, although the fire service had assured her it was not started deliberately
Published Thursday, June 19, 2003
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