A quick thinking woman saved her neighbour's life last night after she woke him up to alert him to a fire in the roof of his house.
Finchley fire station’s Green Watch manager, David Huffington, was at the scene. He said: “There was a man asleep in the house at the time and as he didn’t have any smoke alarms he wasn’t aware that the fire had broken out. Fortunately for him, a neighbour was passing by and noticed the smoke. We heard that she banged on the doors and couldn’t rouse him so as a last resort she threw a brick through the window, which did wake him up and he managed to escape.
“This man’s lucky to be alive, if it weren’t for his quick thinking neighbour he might not have realised there was a fire until it was too late. If you’ve not got a smoke alarm, I’d urge you to get one today.”
The man had escaped from the house, which is on Norrice Lea in East Finchley in N2, before the firefighters arrived on the scene. The loft of the house was badly damaged by the fire but fortunately no one was injured.
The Brigade was called at 2316 and the fire was under control by 0143. Six fire engines and 30 firefighters from Finchley, Hornsey, West Hampstead, Kentish Town and Soho fire stations were at the scene.
The cause of the fire is now under investigation.
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