Police save man from burning flat after hearing shouts for help

A video shared by Nottinghamshire Police shows the moment officers forced their way into a burning flat after hearing a man shouting from above. PCs Jak Walker and Aaron Mulcahy were walking near Radford Road in Hyson Green on Thursday, November 7.

After hearing what they thought was a voice, they smelt smoke and forced entry to the address. When they got upstairs, they found a man in his 60s stuck in bed, with his head just metres from a fire that had started on his bedside table.

They put the fire out, which had started due to a cigarette, using buckets of water and ventilated the property, which had filled with smoke. They couldn't move the man due to his disability which meant he was severely bedbound.

Sergeant Dean Reynolds, based at Radford Road Police Station, said: “If it wasn’t for the quick-thinking actions of these two police officers there is no doubt that the man would have died. There was a significant amount of smoke as the officers entered the property.

“If it hadn’t been put out quickly it would have spread to both the bed and the curtains and would have had catastrophic results.

"After the fire had been put out, they then took immediate steps to save the man’s life from smoke inhalation before the fire service and paramedics arrived. The man was transported to Queen’s Medical Centre and suffered no serious injuries.”

Chief Inspector Anwaar Ahmed, who is responsible for the city response officers, added: “Both officers have used courage and bravery by entering an address into what was an unknown situation to save a resident from a fire.

“They put their lives on the line to ensure the fire was handled and that the man was rescued and sent to hospital after significant smoke inhalation. Without their amazing efforts, this situation could have resulted in the man losing his life."