Masoom Miah, of Frizinghall rushed to the aid of his neighbour when he saw her at the window of her smoke-filled bedroom on the morning of October 8th. The property, a three-bedroom semi-detached house, was starting to fill with smoke after the woman had used a blow torch as part of a DIY project.
His quick-thinking actions led to him rescuing the woman from the house and this month West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) held a commendation ceremony at Shipley Fire Station where Mr Miah was presented with an award.
At the event Mr Miah, who works in the banking sector, said: “I didn’t expect to receive an award for what happened on that Saturday morning, but it’s amazing to be recognised for my bravery. Thank you to West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service for presenting me with this commendation.”
Crew manager Phil Brown at Shipley Station was the officer in charge when the first engine arrived at the scene. “The woman was working on a DIY project and had used several items of equipment including a blowtorch,” said CM Brown. “However, there was also petrol vapour in the air and this, with the blowtorch, caused the bedroom to set on fire.
“Mr Miah heard screams and saw her at her front bedroom window with smoke behind her and acted quickly. He knew that work was taking place on a nearby house and he took a ladder from that property and put it against the window. He then helped the woman out of the window and down the ladder. On our arrival we were thankful that all persons were accounted for, which made our job a lot clearer as we could focus on tackling the fire.”
Engines attended from Shipley, Bingley and Bradford and were on the scene within minutes of the call, which they received at 10.23am.
“Firefighters with breathing apparatus went into the house and contained the very hot fire to just the bedroom,” said CM Brown. “Crews successfully stopped it from spreading to the rest of the house and roof space. Without Mr Miah’s quick thinking and willingness to act this could have been a different story. Rather than just be a bystander he took action and helped save his neighbour’s life.”