Naylor Road fire Sheffield: Hero dad on school run saves family from house fire by pulling them through window

Josh Cutting was taking his children into Oughtibridge Primary School earlier than usual because his son wanted to go on his scooter – and he spotted flames coming from a property on Naylor Road near the school gates.

He, a neighbour, named as Danny, and the school caretaker then joined forces to get a family out of the blazing properties when it became apparent what was happening, and have now been heralded as life saving heroes.

Josh rushed to see what was happening, and found a bin ablaze next to the back door of the property, which was starting to spread to the house itself.

He could also see children in the lounge.

He said when he realised what was happening, he started to bang on the windows.

Eventually, the children’s mother, named by neighbours only as Sarah, came to the window and was looking to get the family out of the door – until Josh warned her that was where the fire was.

Instead, he told her to open the window. By then, the neighbour and the school caretaker had also arrived to help.

The window was at chest height – but the worried mother was able to pass the children, aged six and four, out to them to pull out of the building, before following them out through the window herself.

He said: “I think everyone was all right. I wanted to check they were all right afterwards. The mum gave me a hug and said ‘youve saved our lives’.

"The speed with which the flames spread was amazing – I think my instincts took over as I tried to help.

"Smoke was starting to fill the lounge when we got them out. We grabbed them and pulled them out, Any longer and the room would have been full of smoke.

"I think the mum had been asleep. They had no way of knowing the house was on fire.

"I dread to think what would have happened if my son had not wanted to take his scooter to school. I think God must have wanted us to be there.”

Josh said the school responded to the emergency by opening its gates early so that the children would not have to witness what was happening, and to keep them out of the way.

No comment was available from the school this afternoon.

The family in the downstairs flat which were rescued are currently looking for temporary accommodation, said friend and neighbour Mel Steel. She said they were not injured due to the actions of those who sprang into action to help. She said neighbours were trying to rally round to help them after what they had been through.

She added she was concerned that the firefighters had struggled to get their fire engines to the fire because of double parking along the street.

Susan McCaig, who lives in the upper flat with husband Ian, a former firefighter, said she had heard a hammering on the door – and was warned that there was a fire downstairs and they should get out of the house. She said as soon as the fire hit the plastic door, the flames shot right up.

She said: “There were two children in and the mother. The man at the end of the road managed to get the mum and the two children out through the front window, and we stood around waiting for the fire brigade to turn up.”

She said it was scary because there was a lot of thick smoke and the fire alarms were going off. She said the smoke was so thick that alarms were also going off at properties further down the street.

“As soon as the fire brigade got here, there were three fire engines, and they soon got it under control,” she added.

She said Sarah did not know about the fire, until she heard people banging on the window. She said Sarah’s husband had been out to the shops, adding it must have been a shock for him when he arrived back to see the drama.

Asked if the men who helped them out of the house were potentially lifesavers, she added: “I would have said so, yes – the heroes of the day.”

She added: “I think even the caretaker was involved, controlling traffic, because the fire engines meant they could not get any traffic down for the school.”

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said firecrews from Rivelin, Elm Lane and Central were called to the incident at 8.27am today at the house on Naylor Road, Sheffield.

"Upon arrival they found a bin at the front of a ground floor flat had set alight, and this had then started to spread to the property. The fire was confined to the front porch area of the flat, as crews dealt with it quickly.

“Given the exit was clearly blocked by fire, it sounds like two children were helped out of the property through a window before we arrived. This happened at the same time as the 999 call was being made.

“We left the scene at 10.56am. The family, two parents and two children, were checked over by paramedics at the scene and are now being supported by the British Red Cross fire victim support team.”

The cause of the fire is believed to have been accidental.