Hero dad rescues OAP from smoke engulfed home

A FATHER of five and his ten-year-old daughter have been hailed heroes by firefighters after they rescued an elderly man from his smoke engulfed home.

Peaks Lane firefighters said if it wasn't for the quick-thinking actions of Andrew Fox, 29, and daughter Danielle, of Thrunscoe Road, Cleethorpes, their 86-year-old neighbour might have died – proving ignoring a ringing fire alarm could have fatal consequences.

The drama unfolded as Andrew, a factory worker at Morrison's WM on the Europarc, got his children ready to go out for ice-cream and Danielle rushed to tell him their neighbour's fire alarm was going off.

Andrew saw his neighbour, known only as Mr Morley, in his doorway, then watched in horror as he turned round and walked back inside the smoke filled house. Instinct kicked in and Andrew ran after him through thick, black smoke and into his bedroom, followed by an unknown 17-year-old boy, whose friend was ringing the fire service and ambulance from outside.

Andrew said: "I saw him come out of the house coughing and spluttering but then he went back in.

"I ran straight in to get him. I didn't really think about it.

"I just saw thick, black smoke coming through the door."

It appears Mr Morley, who was described as "frail" by firefighters, had left his chip pan on the stove and forgotten about it.

On seeing the smoke, he tried to get to his bedroom to put some trousers on so he could leave the house.

But Andrew knew there wasn't enough time and his neighbour was in serious danger.

After reassuring him, he wrapped him in a blanket and pulled him out of the house and onto the street.

They were met by Andrew's wife Laura, 28, a carer, who comforted Mr Morley until the firefighters arrived moments later.

Andrew continued: "Even though he was an old bloke, I didn't want him to lose his dignity. He was struggling to breathe and I knew we needed to get him out.

"Later on that night, I was thinking 'what would have happened if we had just got in the car and gone for ice-cream?'.

"A crew member told me if it had a few minutes later, he could have died. If I had stood there and thought about what I was going to do, I could have been pulling out a dead body. It doesn't bare thinking about."

Mr Morley was taken to Grimsby's Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital where he was kept in for a night and treated for severe smoke inhalation.

He is currently being cared for by his son Craig Morley.

Danielle is proud of her dad and hopes it might make more people look out for their neighbours.

She said: "At first I wondered what was happening because I heard the beeping. I told my dad straight away and he went running in. I think he is very brave."

Crew manager at Peaks Lane Station, Neil Night, said: "Mr Fox braved against the smoke to rescue Mr Morley. This could have been a lot worse if it wasn't for the little girl raising the alarm and her dad running in.

"If he had been in there any longer he could have died.

"Unlike burglar alarms, when fire alarms go off, it generally means a person is in danger. It is important to react to them, like this little girl did. A sounding smoke alarm means someone is in trouble and shouldn't be ignored."