Neighbours battle in vain to save Holmbridge man from fire

Apr 2 2009 by Sam Casey, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A WELL-LOVED village stalwart died as fire ripped through his house despite neighbours’ desperate efforts to save him.

Friends of 88-year-old Arthur Holmes used an axe to smash down the door of his Holmbridge farmhouse as flames engulfed the living room.

They were forced back by the smoke and intense heat before firefighters arrived shortly after 9pm on Tuesday night.

Minutes later widower Mr Holmes was pulled from the Brownhill Lane house, where he lived alone.

But he was later declared dead at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.

A post mortem was being carried out yesterday to determine the cause of death. It was not clear if Mr Holmes had been killed by the fire or had died before it started.

Mr Holmes was registered blind and used a wheelchair to get around his house.

Neighbour Jill Martin was the first person to realise something was wrong when she heard Mr Holmes’ smoke alarm.

“He always had his downstairs light on and I couldn't see it so I ran round,” she said.

“I tried to open the door but it was locked, so I looked through the window.

“It looked like there was a blind down over the window, but it was smoke.

“I touched the glass and it was red hot, so I dialled 999.