Brave teenager helps save family from fire (From Sutton Guardian)

Brave Carshalton teenager helps save family from fire

5:16pm Friday 14th September 2012 in News By Sophia Sleigh, Reporter

The actions of a brave teenager and a quick-thinking neighbour helped put out a kitchen fire.

Julie Millard, 39, and her family were distracted with her six-month-old granddaughter, Sienna, when a chip pan fire broke out at their home in Mill Lane, Carshalton.

However, the quick actions of her son, Lewis, 13, got the family out of the house as the smoke from the fire began to engulf the kitchen.

Firefighters praised her neighbour David Woodvine who put out the fire.

Mrs Millard said: “We were all having dinner and there was quite a few of us.

“They all sat down when Lewis told us there was a fire and to get out. It is still a bit unreal it all happened. It was all quite scary.

“Lewis was a hero. I’m really proud of him. I said ‘I’m going to treat you to something good.”

As the blaze broke out Lewis, a pupil at Greenshaw High School, and his family also made sure all their neighbours were safe.

It was then that David Woodvine, 39, dressed in just a vest and shorts, decided to tackle the blaze.

He said: “I was at my friend’s place having a chat – the next minute there was banging at the door saying ‘there’s a fire’.

“We all ran out then I ran upstairs and kicked the door open.

“I went to the sink and there were a lot of tea towels so I wet them.

“[The fire] was going up the side of the unit but because of the smoke you couldn’t see anything. It was bellowing smoke.”

Crew manager Dave Coleman, from Wallington fire station, said although he did not encourage have-a-go heroism, the fire would have been much worse but for Mr Woodvine’s actions.

He said: “He heard all the commotion and turned all the power off on the cooker and then put himself at risk and smothered the flames.

“When we got there the fire was out thanks to this man.

“He was treated on the scene with little bit of oxygen.”

Mr Coleman said when a fire breaks out you must isolate it, turn off the power if you can, evacuate and call the fire brigade.