Rotherham man who warned residents of fire branded 'a hero'
Mr Yousaf runs a phone shop in the town centre and said he was walking home past the Moorgate Lodges building, as he has done daily for the past 15 years, when he saw flames."There was a little chimney on the roof with smoke and fire but nobody was coming out of the building," he said."I then realised I could see the eaves and guttering and there were flames there too, so I thought it must be a major fire. I phoned 999 and ran across the road."There are 28 flats in the building and after banging on the front door, Mr Yousaf managed to get the attention of Mr Ahmed inside the building."I thought he was a parcel delivery person, he was waving his arms," Mr Ahmed said."He told me, 'get out of the building, can't you see the building is on fire?'"Mr Yousaf said he then entered the building, banged on doors and pressed the fire alarm button."I was panicked for them and shouting," he said."I think there were night workers who were sleeping during the day, I didn't want them to think I was a mad man."The wind must have blown the embers because then they saw and smelled the burning through the windows."
Mr Ahmed, a former taxi driver, said he had "lost everything" in the fire, including documents and clothes.The Red Cross have provided him with new clothes and Rotherham Council has temporarily re-housed him in alternative accommodation, he said."My mind is seeing the boom, banging and fire brigade," he added."The fire was so aggressive and it spread so quickly. I was dozing on the bed."He said Mr Yousaf had "saved" him.
A spokesperson for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said crews were called to the building on Monday afternoon and did not leave the scene until 22:00 the following day."On arrival crews discovered one residential property with a fully involved fire within its roof," they said."At the height of the fire, there were seven fire engines, one aerial ladder and a number of specialist support vehicles on scene."They said the fire was "believed to have started accidentally".Mr Yusaf said: "I did what any normal person would have done. But the fire brigade, they do this every day, day in, day out - they're the real heroes."I'm just really happy that people got out, that's the most important thing."
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