True hero of fire rescue
Published: February 6, 2007
Quick-thinking passers-by saved a man’s life as fire tore through his home.
The man, thought to be in his 50s, was overcome by toxic fumes and acrid smoke from the blaze in Monument Road, Maybury.
He was trapped in a first floor bedroom and was passing in and out of consciousness when he was rescued by off-duty firefighter Colin Coles, who spotted the blaze as he drove past the house at about 10.50am on Monday.
Mr Coles, who had been fitting smoke alarms to homes in the area, told how he first realised something was wrong. He said: “I was driving along Maybury Road when I saw thick, black smoke coming from the roof of a house. I pulled my van over and saw a chap running around the back with a ladder.
“I went with him and looked up at the window and I could see an arm and a head hanging out. I would say he had about a minute to live. I knew I had to get up there and try and get him out.”
Michael Renton works at Brandon Tool Hire opposite the house and said he took the ladder over after a colleague spotted the flames. He said: “The first thing we saw was all the smoke. We knew if anybody was in there they would die.
“It was very bad. The window had already gone through and the flames were licking up the roof. We spotted this guy in the window and he was leaning, trying to get out.”
One of Mr Renton’s colleagues held the ladder while Mr Coles braved the flames, smoke and suffocating fumes. He said: “I ran up the ladder, took a deep breath and pulled him by the collar. I managed to pull his head out of the window but I started to get overcome by the smoke myself.
“I took another deep breath of fresh air and got my head and shoulders up to my waist in through the window, stretched out and managed to grab his trousers by the waist.
“He murmured that his legs were hot. I said to him: ‘Come on, you’ve got to help me’. He gave one push and then passed out. I got him by the waist and I pulled him out of the window.”
Mr Coles was helped down the ladder with the semi-conscious man by another passer-by. He was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene and the man was taken to St Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey, where he was also treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns.
Four fire engines were called to the house at the junction of Monument Way East and Monument Road. Two crews wearing breathing apparatus tackled the flames.
A spokesman for Surrey Fire and Rescue said the first floor flat was completely gutted and the building suffered severe smoke and water damage. He added that if a working smoke alarm had been fitted in the property the man would have had ample time to flee the flames.
Mr Coles said: “I have never experienced anything like this fire in my 26 years in the service. It was very severe. The heat was very intense.
“My instinct was to help.”
Traffic warden’s bid to claim glory
THE story of the blaze drama took a bizarre turn the following day when it emerged an imposter was claiming the glory for rescuing the trapped victim.
Traffic warden Salman Raja phoned in sick on Tuesday, supposedly suffering from smoke inhalation. He had been the hero of the rescue, he told his bosses, who promptly issued a press release about his daring actions.
The account mirrored the facts of the event, only Mr Raja was named as the rescuer who climbed the ladder instead of Colin Coles. But Central Parking Systems was later forced to admit it was all a fantasy on the part of Mr Raja who was ‘guilty of embellishing the truth’.
A spokesman said: “Salman called the emergency services and did what he could to help. He was, however, on duty and acted according to the instructions he received in his training.”
They added: “He has been reprimanded over his comments, and is embarrassed by the fuss he has caused.”
Mr Coles dismissed Mr Raja’s story as pure fiction. “He must have dreamed it up,” he said.
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