Praise for quick actions as OAPs saved from fire

DUO GET WOMEN OUT OF HOUSE

TWO elderly women were led to safety from a house fire in Loughborough thanks to the efforts of a quickthinking couple who happened to be passing by.

Mike and Becky Roberts were out for a walk on the afternoon of Saturday, November 7, when they came across some concerned neighbours outside a house in Beacon Road.

Mike said: “We stopped to see if everything was all right.

“They said ‘It looks like there’s a fire and smoke is coming out’ and said they were trying to call the fire service.

“I ran to the house and tried to open all the doors. The front door was locked. I could see the two ladies through their conservatory. They weren’t aware there was a fire. “I tried that door, it was locked.” Mike managed to get in through an unlocked side door and as he went in the air was already smoky. The women were taken aback when he appeared but he urged them to leave the house immediately.

“I explained we needed to get them out as soon as possible”, he said. “My wife helped get the first of the ladies out. Another man who was out for a run helped us get the second lady out.” Fire crews arrived at the scene within minutes, including Graham Vaux, watch manager at Loughborough station, who Mike plays rugby with.

“Because of the quick action of Mike and Becky they probably saved the two ladies’ lives”, Mr Vaux said.

“They went into a smoke-filled ground floor and took the two residents to safety.

“It was a well-developed fire in the first floor and smoke was issuing on all the first floor and had started to fill the ground floor. Fortunately, they managed to rescue them before the smoke got in. Both residents didn’t need to go to hospital.”

The cause of the fire was accidental.