Team member helps rescue man from blazing house
Pendle-based teacher and team member, James Steel, climbed on to the roof of a bay window to alert the 89-year-old that his house was on fire.
Mr King managed to escape from his home and was taken to hospital for checks but was not badly hurt. The incident, reported in the Burnley Express happened shortly before 8am on Friday last week.
The fire started in the kitchen of Mr King's home in Dent Street, on the approach to the school. James was driving in to school when he spotted smoke.
He explained, 'When I drove past there was a bit of smoke and I thought it was a bit strange. I parked in the school car park and went back down. There was smoke coming through the roof tiles. I thought it might be a chimney fire at first.'
Realising the situation was much more serious, he called the fire service, before enlisting the help of a neighbour to break into the kitchen. Unfortunately, there was so much smoke, he couldn't get inside, so climbed up on to the lounge window roof and banged on the bedroom window.
He advised Mr King to stay in the bedroom, away from the smoke, but the gentleman was unable to hear him and grabbed his key and went down stairs. Fortunately, he was helped out of the house by neighbours, just as the first fire crew arrived.
Father-of-two Mr Steel, who lives in Bacup said, 'I was just in the right place at the right time. Mr King had the bedroom and kitchen doors shut and that kept the smoke out. He was slightly confused when I was banging on his first floor window!'
School staff took Mr King into the school and kept him warm until the ambulance arrived to take him to hospital. 'Another five minutes and it would have been much more serious, said the headteacher, Mrs Janet King. Well done, James!
posted Friday, April 30, 2010