HERO COPS DRAGGED 25ST MAN FROM BURNING HOUSE
Three officers risked their own lives to save him after he threw whisky around the property and set it on fire
THREE police officers who disarmed a 25-stone man and then pulled him out of a burning house have been nominated for national awards.
Police constables Paul Waterhouse, Daniel Woodmansey and Joanne Willis risked their own lives to save Duncan Milner, 58.
They had been called to a property in Parkhall Avenue, Weston Coyney, following a report of a domestic incident. Milner was believed to be spraying whisky around the home, with the intention of setting it alight.
When PCS Woodmansey and Waterhouse arrived, three dogs were barking at them aggressively from behind a gate. They could see the shape of a fourth through the glass front door.
The dog was let out and began running towards them. PC Waterhouse managed to calm the animal before PC Willis, a dog handler, arrived moments later to take control of it. Meanwhile, an alarm had been set off inside the property and so they used an enforcer to open the door.
Inside, they found Milner slumped on the living room sofa with a kitchen knife, about a foot long, in his hand.
PC Woodmansey said: “I entered the room with my Taser unholstered. I suspected he was in a distressed mental state from the information passed to us before our arrival, and was genuinely concerned he would either hurt himself, PC Waterhouse or me.
“I calmly instructed him to put the knife down slowly and told him I did not want him to come to any harm. But he was not responding and hardly moving.”
With the kitchen now well ablaze, the officers had to move fast. PC Woodmansey tried to take the knife from the man who then resisted and moved the blade towards his upper body, as if to harm himself.
PC Waterhouse then discharged his Taser, causing him to drop the knife. “Due to the fire, we didn’t have the time to negotiate any longer with him,” he said.
But Milner then rolled onto the floor, jamming his body between the sofa and a coffee table. He refused to stand up and was aggressive.
“I was beginning to get very concerned that the fire was taking hold of the property,” said PC Waterhouse. “PC Willis was shouting at us to get out.
“PC Woodmansey and myself took hold of his arms and attempted to drag him but, because of his weight and the clutter in the room, we couldn’t move him. In the end, PC
Woodmansey took hold of his legs and I took hold under his arms and we were able to drag him across the floor.”
By now, the hall was full of thick, black smoke and the officers were struggling to see and breathe.
PC Willis had got hold of two fire extinguishers, but the first failed to work and she was unable to use the second because of the density of the smoke. She recalled: “I shouted to my colleagues to get out several times. They then got into the hallway and I could hear them coughing and telling him to move.”
The two officers inside struggled with the 25st deadweight while engulfed in thick smoke.
PC Waterhouse said: “We had managed to get him halfway down the hall before I could no longer breathe. I let go of him and ran out of the front door, gasping for breath.”
Despite this, they returned to the burning building and, with the help of PC Willis, managed to drag Milner out.
The three officers have now been nominated for the Police Federation’s 2021 Police Bravery Awards.
Glyn Pattinson, secretary of Staffordshire Police Federation, said: “These three officers acted together to save the life of this man, putting their lives at risk while doing so.”