A man has described how he ran into a burning house in Bishop’s Stortford and rescued the elderly occupant before alerting his neighbours.
Matthew Nash was returning home from a shopping trip on Sunday afternoon when he saw smoke coming from the semi-detached property in Chinnery Hill.
“I could see billowing smoke coming from the flue vent on the house,” said Matt, the founder of Bishop’s Stortford Academy of Performing Arts. “As I turned the corner it was thick and grew fast.”
After calling 999, Matt went into the house and found its 78-year-old occupant looking distressed and disorientated.
“I could see he had some burn marks to his hands and I said to him ‘We have to go now’.”
Matt realised the dangers as the fire was in a gas boiler in the attic of the house, but the man began wandering around seemingly looking for something.
“He said ‘I’m looking for my cat’, but I said we needed to get out. I just grabbed him and pulled him out.”
Matt said that the cat ran out of the house soon afterwards.
When he sat the man down outside he realised he needed to call for an ambulance, which he did, but then ran to the house next door, which he could see was in danger of catching fire.
“I screamed at them ‘Get out, get out’ and I got them all out,” added Matt.
Neighbour Lisa French revealed on Facebook that her family’s house had suffered smoke damage but that they were still living there, albeit having to put up with the smell of smoke.
Lisa praised Bishop’s Stortford fire crews, who she said had saved the houses from severe damage and were “amazing”, a sentiment echoed by Matt.
“They arrived so quickly and were so professional,” he said. “They retrieved the man’s glasses and jacket [from the house] when it was practical, provided me with reassurance that he’d be looked after in terms of where he would go – truly a caring and professional service.”
Matt was modest about his actions, saying anyone would do it. “It was instinct,” he said. “But once I got inside I thought ‘I’ve got myself in a very bad situation’.”
He revealed that when he went into the house visibility was poor and there was a horrible smell which he said he could still taste.
“The only saving grace was I happened to be there in the nick of time,” he said. “The main thing is everybody is safe.”
Matt admitted he had gone into shock the day afterwards and said he had since met the elderly man and he seemed in good spirits, but his house was badly damaged and it was likely to be months before he could return.
Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service said that it was called at 12.45pm and that three fire engines – from Bishop’s Stortford, Sawbridgeworth and Hertford – along with an aerial ladder platform from Stevenage and two Essex County Fire and Rescue Service engines, were sent to the scene.
Crews found a fire in the attic of a semi which was threatening to spread to the neighbouring home. Firefighters quickly accounted for everyone and tackled the flames from inside and outside the property. The fire was out by 3.20pm and crews remained at the scene until shortly after 5pm to secure the property.
One man was treated for smoke inhalation by firefighters at the scene before being taken to hospital by ambulance.
Bishop’s Stortford fire station’s White Watch commander Dean Hunt praised Mr Nash for rescuing the man but added that he would not normally recommend people go into a burning house.
He told the Indie: “When we got there the fire had fully developed in the roof and was spreading. But the crews got hold of it pretty quickly.”
Although not a factor in this incident, Mr Hunt reminded residents to check that their smoke alarms were working properly.
He also urged people to use the correct fuel on fires and to have their chimneys swept after crews were called to two minor chimney blazes, in Portland Road in Stortford and West Road in Sawbridgeworth. In both incidents only minimal damage was caused.
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