Man says arson and delayed firefighters put his life at risk
Nov 18 2008 by Andrew Hirst, Huddersfield Daily Examiner
Man says arson and delayed firefighters put his life at risk
Mr Ansell said he had gone to bed at about 1.30am on Saturday and half-an-hour later heard someone banging on the front door
“I could see a glow outside from the landing,” he said. “There were three youths on the other side of Manchester Road laughing. I simply shut the door and stayed inside. I was worried what they’d do if I went out.”
He said he made three calls to West Yorkshire fire service’s control room at Birkenshaw before help arrived.
He said he thought the 999 operators believed it to be a fire in the open.
His car, a Hyundai Pony with only 22,000 miles on the clock, was destroyed and his van was scorched, along with the side of his end terraced home.
Two windows and a door will need replacing and the side of the house will require sand-blasting.
Mr Ansell said the fire had also spread to his wheeled bin and the thick, black toxic smoke meant he and Elena could not get out of their home.
“I can’t think of any reason at all why someone would want to target me like this,” said Mr Ansell, who works in the carpet trade.
