UU worker recognised for helping put out fire

A BRAVE Ulster University door supervisor has been hailed a hero after putting out a fire in a burning truck outside the institution’s Belfast campus — though his wife was less impressed.

Holywood man David Thompson (39), who had worked at the university for four years, prevented an explosion, saved lives and averted extensive damage to the campus.

At 9.30am on August 26 this year, the CCTV operatives in Ulster University’s control room called David, who was on duty on the campus, on the radio to tell him that a seven-tonne refrigerated truck was on fire on the street adjacent to the glass-fronted building on York Road.

David sent a message on the radio to his colleague, porter Matthew Ward, to pick up two fire extinguishers as he could see flames and black smoke billowing out of the back of the truck’s cabin.

The pair battled the blaze near the fuel tank as smoke poured from the top mounted refrigeration unit.

But as David and colleague Matthew applied the extinguishers to the flames, there was a section of the unit that was still smouldering.

Holywood man David said: “I picked up the burning item with my bare hands and threw it on the ground and used the extinguisher to stop the fire.

“I didn’t give it a thought about the risk that I was taking. I knew if the truck had exploded that it could have killed people.”

But his wife was unimpressed. “I showed the footage of the incident to my wife and she called me stupid,” he laughed.

“‘You could have killed yourself ’, she said. ‘We could have been having this Christmas without you’.”

David is a Security Industry Authority (SIA) licensed door supervisor and CCTV operator.

Yesterday, SIA acting chief executive Michelle Russell said the authority was proud to recognise David’s bravery as part of their SIA Heroes campaign — making him the first Northern Ireland member to be honoured in this way.

“The #Siaheroes campaign shines a light on their significant individual contributions and how they are making a difference to the communities that they serve.

“David is a great example of this as every day, security officers save lives, keep people safe and make personal sacrifices for the good of society.”

Last night modest David said he didn’t feel like a hero. “I just wanted to do the right thing — because that’s what decent people do,” he said.

“If you see something, you have to help if you can.”