Hero builder saves 7 from blaze

A BUILDER was hailed a hero last night after rescuing seven people from a tenement blaze that left two dead.

Residents of the four-storey block in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, had smashed windows in a desperate bid to escape.

And builder John Rafferty, 49, saved the lives of seven of them using a 60ft ladder.

John, from Aberdeen, said: “I’m not a hero. Anyone else would have done the same thing.

“I was working in the next building when I heard someone shouting for help.

“I found three guys had clambered up on to the roof and were hanging on to the TV aerial for dear life.

“I got the ladder up to them as quickly as possible and got them down.

“I got another two couples out of their flats.

“I didn’t have time to think about what I was doing. It all happened so quickly.”

The fire, on Fraserburgh’s Kirk Brae, broke out just before midday yesterday.

It is thought it started on a lower floor then quickly spread. The stairwell also caught fire, making it difficult for people to get out.

John got to the scene before the fire brigade.

He said: “It all happened in seconds.

“I heard the call for help then smoke was pouring out of the building.

“If I hadn’t had the ladder I dread to think what might have happened.”

Firefighters battled for 40 minutes to get the blaze under control.

Four people rescued by John were taken to Fraserburgh Hospital and treated for smoke in halation.

Another resident who was rescued by firefighters was also being treated in hospital last night.

The bodies of the two people who died, who had not been named last night, were later found in the charred remains of the block.

One neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s dreadful for a tragedy like this to happen at this time of year.

“I saw people trapped in the flats running around trying to get out. They were like shadows in there.”

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