Chelmsford: Just seconds to spare as man is saved in fire

They had been alerted by three friends returning home early from a night-spot.

The friends' swift action saved at least seven other sleeping residents and a baby, living in the four-storey block above the seat of the fire, from danger.

The drama happened at Haig Court flats, in Bradford Street.

The three friends, Robert Crosby, 26, and James Crawley, 24, of Ingatestone, and Alison Kirk, also 24, who is a resident in the block, hammered on the door of a ground floor flat where they had smelled smoke -- but there was no response.

They raised the letter-box flap to shout to owner Quentin Barnard, but choking smoke billowed out.

Mr Crosby called the fire service and police while the other two alerted all the other residents on the three other floors, hurrying them down into the street. They included Shifa Salih and her eight-week-old baby, Laurens.

They had still been unable to raise the occupant of the smoke-filled flat when Chelmsford's eight strong Blue Watch fire crew arrived to smash in the door.

Mr Barnard, known to friends as "Q", was discovered asleep on a settee in the lounge. He had nodded off, leaving food cooking.

Station officer Alan Cutter said: "The flat was smokelogged and the man was in the gravest danger of being asphyxiated.

"A few moments longer and he would have been dead. He owes his life to the quick action of those young people coming back for an early nightcap.

"All round, it was a very successful piece of quick action with the public and fire service working in concert."

Ms Bijal Khiroya, who was visiting Ms Salih, said:"Alison and the lads had remarkable presence of mind.

"The fire was not that evident, but it could have been very serious for everyone, particularly Laurens, if they had not reacted when they did.

"That guy owes his life to them."

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