Man “lucky to be alive” after Huddersfield blaze

Nov 11 2009 By Hazel Ettienne

Man “lucky to be alive” after Huddersfield blaze

A RELUCTANT hero has revealed how he helped drag his house mate from his burning bedsit.

Mark Smith was first on the scene when the smoke alarm went off at about 12.50am yesterday morning at flats in Trinity Street near Huddersfield town centre.

Mr Smith, 42 and another house mate Danny Cosgrove, also 42, saw smoke pouring from beneath the door of David Lee’s ground floor flat.

Mark said: “We’ve had a few false alarms lately, but I heard the smoke alarm and could smell burning. There was smoke pouring out of David’s door and I started banging on the door to get him up.

“Then a man with a torch arrived who I now know was a fireman. He said ‘what are you doing in here, get out’, but I stayed and we helped David out.”

Sixty-five-year-old Mr Lee only said he had ‘nodded off” on the settee during the evening.

He said: “The next thing I remember was being outside with no shoes on and police, fireman and ambulance all around.”

Mr Lee said he was very grateful to his flat mates for helping rescue him from the blaze.

He said he had lived there for about 14 years and was hopeful his landlord would be able to find him alternative accommodation.