Neighbour rescues man from burning flat

A man has been rescued from a fire at his home by his neighbour who noticed smoke coming from the neighbouring flat at around 2.00am on 2nd February.

​Mr Parkinson said: “It is lucky I had the night off work. I went outside and banged on the door but there was no answer. I tried it and it was open so I went in. The whole place was filled with smoke and I couldn’t see anything in front of me. I didn’t know where he was, so I used the light on my phone and tried to feel my way around. At one point I heard something and then I found him laying on the floor on the landing. I had to pull him by his arm and as soon as we got out I called the fire brigade. I think it was just luck that I was here, awake and the door was unlocked. Anybody would have done the same. I don’t know the guy very well, but I say hello when I pass him. I hope he will be OK.”

Mr Hunter was taken to hospital by ambulance suffering with severe smoke inhalation.

Neighbour Gary Boulton said: “We got woken up by the lights of the fire engines and didn’t really know what was happening. We didn’t get evacuated because the firefighters got the situation under control quickly. The firemen came into our house and used it to look out of, to see if the back of the property was OK. The guy who dragged him out did a great thing.”

The flat is situated above a newsagent shop which suffered some damage in the fire.

Wayne Robson, landlord of the flats and shop, said: “I got called by the police at about 2.30am and was told what happened. The flat has been completely gutted, but that doesn’t matter right now as long as everyone is OK. The shop hasn’t suffered too much damage and we will have it repaired in no time.”

Fire crews praised Mr Parkinson for his quick actions but also added that entering a burning building is not something they advise the public to do. Andy James, a fire officer at the scene, said: “Although I would not advise people to enter a burning building, the neighbour did extremely well in saving this man. Crews worked very quickly in difficult conditions to tackle what was a severe fire. It stresses the importance of looking out for your neighbours and links in with our Check On Your Neighbours campaign.”