Fire hero who saved Claudia’s little girl from Halloween hell
A HEROIC father has spoken of the moment he saved Claudia Winkleman’s daughter after her Halloween costume caught fire.
Jamie Poulton suffered second- degree burns when he plucked eight- year- old Matilda from a group of children and put out the flames with his bare hands.
His brave actions not only saved her from worse injury, they prevented her from setting fire to nine other children crowded on to a narrow doorstep.
Describing the terrifying accident for the first time, the restaurant owner said he was just feet away when he saw Matilda’s black ‘wizard’s costume’ turn into a ‘crackling ball of flame’. To his hor-
‘It was like a horror film’
ror, the synthetic fabric melted in his hands as he tried to tear it from the screaming child.
Mr Poulton said his daughter Talulah, five, and son Lewis, three, were left terrified after witnessing the accident. And he warned other parents who dress their children in novelty costumes never to allow them near open flames.
The 45-year-old, who owns Randall & Aubin restaurant in Soho, central London, had joined Miss Winkleman, around five other parents and ten children on their annual west London trick or treating expedition.
Although he did not see exactly what set Matilda’s costume alight, it is thought her cape touched a pumpkin candle. He told the Daily Mail: ‘Suddenly, Claudia’s daughter went up in a crackling ball of flame. All the children were wearing the same kit. It was like a potential horror film in front of me, because they were all going to go. Once she goes, then the next one catches and they are all going to go off.
‘They were all on the doorstep together, right next to each other. So I just picked her up and lifted her over the children, got her on the pavement and tried to put her out.’
Mr Poulton said time seemed to slow down as he tried to extinguish Matilda’s flaming costume. Shockingly, the fabric continued to burn as he patted her and rolled her on the pavement. He said: ‘This material just keeps reigniting and re-burning. And it is sticky, so it melts on the skin. It doesn’t cinder. It remains hot. It was horrific to be honest.
‘I was trying to put it out with my hand. It was a warm night so I wasn’t wearing a jacket.
‘There was nothing immediately to hand to put it out with. Ideally I’d have had something like a towel to douse it all out. But I didn’t have anything. There wasn’t much time to think.
‘I was trying to roll her and pat her clothes. I was trying to rip the costume off her, which didn’t really help because it just ripped and dropped back. It is very bad material. That stuff is terrible.
‘The costumes are very, very cheap to buy. They are nylon and they just go up.’
Mr Poulton’s bravery left him with severe burns, and a week after the accident three fingers on his right hand are still in bandages. It is thought Matilda has had several operations and may have to remain in hospital for several weeks. Miss Winkleman and her husband Kris Thykier, both 42, have said they are ‘hopeful’ their daughter will make a ‘full recovery’.
Miss Winkleman, who was replaced on last week’s Strictly Come Dancing by Zoe Ball, will not appear on the BBC1 show tonight and has not said when she will return.
Mr Poulton played down his actions, saying: ‘Any parent would have done exactly the same thing so I don’t think there is anything heroic about it.’ However, he admitted his own children have been left traumatised, adding: ‘My little girl is petrified of candles now. She went to a birthday party the next day and didn’t want to go near a candle.’ Last night, experts said children’s fancy dress costumes have to comply with minimum fire resistance standards set out in the European Union Toy Safety Directive. But they warned it is impossible to create completely fireproof clothes.
Elizabeth Fox, of the National Childrenswear Association, said: ‘All clothes burn, some more quickly than others. The terrible irony is that fabrics such as polyester are actually more fire-resistant than cotton, but once they do set alight they are liable to melt and burn the skin further.
‘Sadly there is no easy fix except to warn parents when their children are around open flames, especially in loose clothing such as Halloween cloaks.’