An off-duty Northfield firefighter has been praised for his selfless actions after saving a young boy from a severe house fire yesterday morning (Thursday 18th March).
West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) firefighter Russ Jones — a firefighter for 24 years currently based at Northfield — rushed to help when an ‘orange glow’ was seen coming from the house in Farren Road.
After making a call to WMFS Fire Control, Firefighter Jones was told that the male occupant’s young son was still inside the property.
With evidence of a severe fire upstairs, and hearing screams from inside, Russ realised the boy must be on the ground floor so tried to locate him by looking through the windows of the family home.
After spotting a curtain moving in the front room, he looked closer to see the boy lying on the floor by the front room window. Smashing the window with a rock, Russ then quickly removed some of the glass before he leaned in and pulled the child to safety.
Firefighter Jones’s eight colleagues from Northfield Fire Station, five firefighters from Kings Norton and another five from Woodgate Valley attended the scene minutes later. Sixteen breathing apparatus and three hose reel jets were used to tackle the large fire which had broken out upstairs.
The boy was treated for minor injuries by West Midlands Ambulance colleagues and then transferred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman confirmed that a man was also assessed at the scene before also being transferred to hospital for further assessment and treatment.
Russ said: “As soon as I saw the fire and was told a young child missing in the property, I had to do something. The fire was too intense upstairs and because I could hear the screams I knew the boy had to be on the ground floor. Without my firefighting kit there it was too dangerous for me to enter the property, so I had to find a way of trying to locate the boy and rescue him. I’m just so grateful I did and that he is ok.
“I did what any of my colleagues would have done in the same situation. I’m a dad myself, so I’m just so grateful I managed to locate the boy and get them out of the property.”
Group Commander at West Midlands Fire Service, Marc Hudson, said: “The swift and selfless actions of Firefighter Jones represent the very best of West Midlands Fire Service. We’re very proud of Russ for saving the young boy’s life, had he not acted so quickly and professionally, this incident may have ended in tragedy.
“I’d also like to commend the on-duty crews from Northfield, Kings Norton and Woodgate Valley who arrived in just over three minutes and worked extremely hard to extinguish the severe fire.”
Fire Investigators who attended the scene confirmed the fire was accidental.
A crowdfunder for the family, started by a neighbour, has so far raised almost £1,500. Donate