Firefighters had to call upon Google Translate to communicate with a resident during a house fire this week.

The blaze broke out in the kitchen of a property in Weybridge, Surrey, but the only resident at the house was a nanny from Russia who could not speak any English. 

The fire service said only limited damage was done to the property as a result of the fire. 

Tony Pascall, from Surrey Fire and Rescue Service, said: "It was a kitchen fire and the whole cooker was ablaze, but the lady in the house, a nanny, did not speak a word of English.

"We were rushing around trying to find out if anyone was in the house and we were trying to ask how she was feeling and where were the house owners."

He said two paramedics came up with the idea of using Google Translate on their mobile devices.

"The nanny could not read the screen and had left her glasses in the kitchen, we had to go back in to get them.”

Original source

BBC