Five fire engines and around 35 firefighters were called to a fire at a flat fire on Laurie Road in Hanwell.
When crews arrived at the property, light wispy smoke could be seen through the letter box and firefighters could smell burning, but no one answered the door.
When crews gained entry they found the resident still inside the property. The woman, who is hard of hearing, had not heard her smoke alarm sounding.
Thankfully, an alarm which was monitored remotely by a call centre, activated and alerted the call centre staff who contacted the Brigade.
Firefighters removed a fridge freezer that had smoke issuing from it to the balcony. There were no reports of any injuries.
Later that afternoon, crews returned to the property and installed specialist alarms which vibrate and flash lights when activated by smoke.
The Brigade was called at 0221. Fire engines from Ealing, Southall, Acton and Northolt fire stations attended the scene.
The fire is believed have been caused by a faulty fridge freezer.