Horror blaze man thanks heroes
Published: October 12, 2006
A MAN who cheated death after being trapped in his burning caravan today saluted his rescuers and said: “Thanks guys, you’re my heroes.”
Brian O’Keefe, 51, was asleep when five hero neighbours raised the alarm as smoke and flames engulfed his mobile home.
He spent several days in intensive care in Blackpool Victoria Hospital where doctors said he was lucky to be alive.
And today he was reunited with some of the men who saved his life.
Mr O’Keefe, a joiner, said: “Words cannot describe how I feel about my rescuers.
“They are pure heroes.
“They risked everything to help me and I will never forget them. They are friends for life and I can never repay them for what they did.”
Mr O’Keefe was asleep in his mobile home at Thornfield Holiday Camp, Staining, when the blaze erupted at 10.20pm on Sunday September 24.
His quick-thinking neighbours banged on the walls of the caravan to wake him but the fire, sparked by a boiler, quickly spread.
Mr O’Keefe was eventually dragged from the burning caravan but was unconscious from the fumes.
The rescuers – Ray Pearson, Pete Swellings, Doug Jasper, Brett Swindon and Doug Hughes – started putting out the flames with a garden hose before fire crews arrived.
Recalling the horror incident, Mr O’Keefe said: “I just woke up to the sound of someone shouting my name. When I came to all I could see was thick, black smoke.
“I was screaming for help, banging on the walls, I was terrified I was going to die in there, it was the most frightening experience of my life. The next thing I remember is waking up two days later in hospital.”
Doug Hughes, 69, said: “We just had to get him out, a lot of people thought he was dead but I could hear him screaming.
“The smoke was so thick that we could not get into the caravan so all we could do was try and put out the flames.”
Fire chiefs have said without the intervention of the men Mr O’Keefe could have died.
Peter Haslam, Watch Manager at Blackpool’s Forest Gate Fire Station, said: “What these men did was very brave.
“It was also very calculated. Being a caravan the exit was narrow and the men were able only to get Mr O’Keefe on to the floor. By smashing the window they got cleaner air into the room.
“They also used a garden hose to damp down the area, which bought them some time and helped save the man’s life.
“And this was all done in the pitch black because there were no street lights.
He added: “These men were only wearing jeans and T-shirts when they entered the caravan, which is less than ideal in this situation.”
Mr O’Keefe is now staying at a friends house in Blackpool while he recovers from his ordeal. He says he will continue to live on the holiday park but is frightened to go back in his burnt-out home.
He added: “There is nothing left, everything has either melted or has been destroyed. To think I could have died in there is not worth thinking about.”
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