Press News
Man, 26, rescued from house fire in Ancress Walk
9:40am Wednesday 22nd February 2012
A WOMAN saved her sleeping neighbour’s life by calling firefighters when she heard his smoke alarm going off in the middle of the night.
Virginia Weir, 45, said how she woke at her flat in Ancress Walk, off Nunnery Lane, York, in the early hours of yesterday to hear a beeping sound.
She thought at first it was a mobile phone ringing and was going to go back to sleep.
“But it carried on beeping and I went out to the landing and heard it was coming from my neighbour Alex’s flat,” she said. “I knocked on his door but he didn’t come to the door so I dialled 999.
“The fire brigade came and they broke in to his flat to wake him up and got him out.
“He was able to walk out and they put the fire out. He was very grateful to be alive and he’s promised to buy me a Pepsi Max as it’s my favourite tipple!
“We’re just neighbours and I don’t really know him very well, but we all look after each other in this block of flats.”
North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said it had received a call to the property at 2.03am yesterday after a fire was started by an iron which had been left on.
A spokesman said: “Three fire crews from York and Acomb were mobilised to the incident and extinguished a fire in the kitchen of first floor flat and rescued one 26-year-old male who was asleep in the property.
“A smoke alarm was fitted which alerted a neighbour.”
Group manager Peter Hudson said the man, who had no injuries, had been evacuated by fire service personnel wearing breathing apparatus and the fire was extinguished before it had time to develop.
“I think the smoke alarm and the emergency call from the neighbour probably saved his life and demonstrates how working smoke alarms save lives.”