Fire heroes react 'in split second' to save man

A man being hailed as a hero has described how he helped to save a man from a burning building.

Tom Jimpson told BBC Radio Sussex it was "adrenaline taking over" when he used a metal sign to break down a door at the property in Castle Road, Tarring, West Sussex, on Wednesday morning.

Another passer-by, Graham Head, went into the building to pull the man to safety, although the victim was badly burned.

"If he hadn't taken that risk", said Tom, "there's a strong possibility the guy would have been in a lot worse state."

Mr Jimpson said he had just dropped his daughter at nursery when he saw thick black smoke blowing across the road, and was joined by Mr Head.

"We could hear someone banging on the door from the inside," he said.

"You have to react in [a] split second. It was very difficult to get to the door because the smoke was coming from the window above.

"The gutter was on fire and swinging down, then the windows blew out, the UPVC started to melt then the glass shattered.

"The smoke was coming out in waves so you had to time when you were going in and out so you could avoid getting anything on the head."

He said they got to a point where they both realised they had to get the man out quickly.

"Graham just ran for it, he had his work boots on with steel toe caps, he just kicked the door, got it by the handle and it swung open.

"This was all in about a three, four minute window."

West Sussex Fire and Rescue said it is still investigating the cause of the fire.

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