Positivity: Hero drags woman from blaze
12 November 2007
A FISH and chip shop owner was this week hailed a hero after his daring rescue of a woman from a burning house in Caister.
The fierce glow from Blacksmith Cottages, High Street signalled Anthony Emmings’ switch from fryer to life-saver on Monday.
The drama unfolded at around 6.50pm on Bonfire Night and for a moment Mr Emmings was untroubled by the pretty flickers visible in the house close to the Beach Road chippy and burger bar he has run for 20 years.
But, seeing the door ajar, he soon sprang to action and dragged an unconscious woman from her smoke-choked home before going back inside to douse the kitchen and its “melting†appliances with his own extinguisher.
His valiant efforts look to have saved the woman, believed to be in her 40s, with firefighters on the scene hailing him a hero - and tucking into some chips.
Although officially the fire service does not encourage people to tackle fires themselves, a spokesman said the Mr Emmings had done a good job and his actions were to be commended.
Mr Emmings said it was his wife Jenny who first spotted the fire and alerted the emergency services.
Afterwards he said: “My wife phoned them straight away and they said not to let me go in the house but I was already in there - I could not stand there and let the house burn down.
“I do not know how I did what I did. I did not plan it I just did it. I was pretty pleased with it afterwards. It was a pretty big drama. The lady was in the hallway. In another minute she would not have been alive.
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