Postman turns fireman to put out kitchen blaze

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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A ‘courageous’ postman has been praised for putting out a kitchen fire, where the flames were almost up to the roof, while he was doing his rounds in Weston-super-Mare.

Postman Shayne Hele, who was described as an ‘angel’ by the woman whose fire he put out last week, was delivering a parcel in Bridge Road when Chloe Potter opened her door, telling him her house was on fire.

Miss Potter, aged 26, said she had been eating toast when she smelled smoke and found her oven was on fire.

She said: “It was a big fire, the whole cooker was alright, right up to the roof, and starting to spread around the wall.

“The whole time I was in the house, I was waiting for it to go ‘boom’.

“I completely panicked.”

When she opened the front door, she found Mr Hele was there with a parcel for her – and he decided to stay with her until the fire was out.

After checking she was OK, he went indoors and opened the windows and shut the doors, helping to prevent the fire from spreading.

Miss Potter continued: “He kicked down the gate at the back door and grabbed the grill tray from the oven and most of the fire stopped.

“He managed to leave my parcel on the stairs for me and went to finish his round.”

Mr Hele, aged 40, said he had never dealt with anything like this before.

He said: “My wife didn’t think I was very clever, running in to a burning house, but the poor girl seemed so distressed.

“Normally my mornings are quite normal, being a postman and just avoiding the occasional dog bite.

“I heard a fire engine the next day and thought ‘oh no, not again’.”

Mr Hele visited Miss Potter later in the day to check on her.

She said: “It would have been even worse if he wasn’t at my doorstep. He was like an angel who fell out of the sky.

“I appreciate him being so thoughtful at the time because he has got a life of his own and really put himself out there.

“He could have walked away but he did intervene. It took a lot of courage. I think it is very admirable what he did.”

[Lounge Lizard]

Well done but it's unfortunate that Shayne wasn't on the pier at the right time in 2008 to save the pavilion

[bogues2009]

we had a similar situation on our street and the next days we arranged a meeting with fire brigade officers to advise us what kind of fire extinguishers to purchase so we can try to limit the fire spreading before the fire engine arrives.
they said that we shouldnt be dealing with the fire at all as only the fire brigade people are fully trained to recognise the type of flames, source of fuel etc..they said you wouldnt be probabaly insured as you are not professionally trained..
i know it must be a normal reaction to try to be a hero and try to put the fire out but i personally wouldnt be approaching a fire at all..