A BRAVE Malvern man who put his own life in severe danger to save his disabled neighbour from a major house fire has received a special award.
Green Lane resident Phil Hall received The Chief Fire Officer’s Certificate of Commendation award following his heroic efforts to save an elderly man from his burning home on May 16 this year.
On the day the blaze occured, Mr Hall and his partner, Mo Hogan, were in their house when they became aware of a strong smell of burning.
On investigation, they could see fire and smoke coming from the roof of the house across the road and they knew that the occupant, an elderly and disabled gentleman, Mr Bishop, would still be inside.
Mo contacted the Fire Service and Phil raced across to help him.
Phil banged on the front door to raise the alarm and saw Mr Bishop standing at his bedroom window, unaware of the blaze that was developing immediately above him.
Phil collected a hammer from the garage, broke through the front door and raced upstairs through the smoke to find that Mr Bishop was no longer there.
With little regard for his own safety, Phil swept through each of the bedrooms in search of Mr Bishop and was relieved to find his neighbour had made his way onto his stairlift on the rear stairs.
With smoke percolating from the roof space and the sound of crackling fire nearby, Phil calmly assisted him down the stairs and out of the house, stopping only to rescue his pet dog.
Phil was presented with his award at the Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service’s annual Awards ceremony on Friday night (September 16).
The ceremony paid tribute to staff’s efforts and members of the public, like Phil, over the course of the year.
Chief Fire Officer Nathan Travis said: “Phil’s actions can only be described as an act of incredible bravery which shouldn’t be underestimated.
“Not only did he undoubtedly save Mr Bishop’s life that day, he also reduced the risk to the responding fire crews by ensuring that ‘All Persons were Accounted For’, prior to their arrival.”
