Hero lorry driver saves man trapped inside burning building in Dublin city centre
A hero lorry driver saved a life by reversing his truck up close to a burning building so a man trapped inside could jump on to the vehicle.
Tomasz Zareba told the Irish Mirror he did it because he thought it "would be much safer for him". Amazingly, the Polish man said he then carried on with his job and "finished [his] deliveries for the day".
Three fire victims were taken to hospital following the Dublin city centre blaze yesterday – but many claim tragedy was avoided thanks to the lorry driver.
As the fire raged on the third floor of a four-storey building at Granby Row in Dublin 1, the passing Eurospar driver assessed the danger. Video footage shows Tomasz reversing the lorry under a window of the building as thick, black smoke and fire billowed out.
After several seconds, a man leaps from the window on to the lorry and a loud impact noise can be heard amid gasps of onlookers. People who saw the terrifying scenes called for Tomasz to get a medal.
(Image: ThisisDublin)
But the driver told us: "I just thought it would be much safer for him to jump on the lorry instead of the footpath. I saw the smoke coming from the window because my next delivery was just around the corner."
He added: "I saw the flames coming up from the window and one guy was lying on the footpath. He had blood on his face, and I think he might have broken both his legs when he jumped from the building.
"Another guy was screaming from the window. He didn't know what he was supposed to do because he had flames behind him. There was a long drop below him. I reversed the lorry as close as I safely could to the window. The other lads from the footpath told him to jump on the roof of the lorry. He was OK I think."
Tomasz said he waited in case someone else needed to jump from the window and then pulled in and waited for the fire brigade. He said: "I waited another 20 minutes because the road was blocked and then the fireman came over.
"He said, 'Grand job buddy, thanks for that'. I went on to finish my deliveries for the day."
A witness said: "He just saved someone an agonising death." Another added: "Incredible. Absolute hero. Many would have driven on." Someone else said: "Give that lorry driver a medal."
The risk to life was reported by Gardaí and Dublin Fire Brigade after an emergency call after 8am. It was confirmed by the emergency services that six fire engines attended the incident, seven people were treated at the scene, and three went to hospital.
(Image: ThisisDublin)
A fire service spokesperson said: "Breathing apparatus teams were committed to fight and extinguish the fire." A Garda spokesperson added: "An investigation is ongoing." A spokesperson for Eurospar said "Tomasz Zareba was on his daily delivery round for our supermarkets."
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19 minutes ago
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Dublin Fire Brigade present hero truck driver with special award after he saved man from burning Dublin building
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Dublin Fire Brigade have presented a hero truck driver with a special award after he saved a man from a burning Dublin building last week. Tomasz Zareba reversed his truck up close to the blaze on the third floor of a four-storey building at Granby Row last Tuesday, allowing the man to jump onto the roof. Amazingly, the Polish man said he then carried on with his job and "finished [his] deliveries for the day". Three fire victims were taken to hospital following the fire on June 24 – but many claim tragedy was avoided thanks to the Eurospar driver. And the capital's fire service recognised him with a special presentation yesterday evening. (Image: Twitter/Dublin Fire Brigade) They said: "Earlier this evening, our Chief Fire Officer presented Tomasz with a plaque to acknowledge his quick actions by positioning his delivery truck to assist in the rescue of people from a fire. Tomasz met with some of the Firefighter/Paramedics who were at the scene." Video footage showed Tomasz reversing the lorry under a window of the building as thick, black smoke and fire billowed out. After several seconds, a man leaps from the window on to the lorry and a loud impact noise can be heard amid gasps of onlookers. But the driver told us: "I just thought it would be much safer for him to jump on the lorry instead of the footpath. I saw the smoke coming from the window because my next delivery was just around the corner." (Image: ThisisDublin) He added: "I saw the flames coming up from the window and one guy was lying on the footpath. He had blood on his face, and I think he might have broken both his legs when he jumped from the building. "Another guy was screaming from the window. He didn't know what he was supposed to do because he had flames behind him. There was a long drop below him. I reversed the lorry as close as I safely could to the window. The other lads from the footpath told him to jump on the roof of the lorry. He was OK I think." Tomasz said he waited in case someone else needed to jump from the window and then pulled in and waited for the fire brigade. He said: "I waited another 20 minutes because the road was blocked and then the fireman came over. "He said, 'Grand job buddy, thanks for that'. I went on to finish my deliveries for the day." A witness said: "He just saved someone an agonising death." Another added: "Incredible. Absolute hero. Many would have driven on." Someone else said: "Give that lorry driver a medal." Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Extra.ie
a day ago
- Extra.ie
Hero lorry driver given major award after rescuing man from burning building
A hero lorry driver has been given a major award after he bravely rescued a man from a burning building last week. A man had been trapped on the third floor of a four-storey building on Granby Row in Dublin City Centre. As smoke billowed from the windows out onto the street, a quick-thinking lorry driver reversed his lorry directly outside the burning building. Earlier this evening, our Chief Fire Officer presented Tomaz with a plaque to acknowledge his quick actions by positioning his delivery truck to assist in the rescue of people from a met with some of the Firefighter/Paramedics who were at the scene. — Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) July 1, 2025 The man who was trapped in the building was then able to jump out from a window on top of the lorry. The brave lorry driver has since been identified as Polish national Tomasz Zareba. On Tuesday evening, Dublin Fire Brigade presented Mr Zareba with a plaque to acknowledge his heroics. Pic: X/Dublin Fire Brigade Taking to social media, they wrote: 'Earlier this evening, our Chief Fire Officer presented Tomaz with a plaque to acknowledge his quick actions by positioning his delivery truck to assist in the rescue of people from a fire. 'Tomaz met with some of the Firefighters/Paramedics who were at the scene.' The comments were full of support for Mr Zareba, with one person writing: 'Amazing intervention by Tomaz and so lovely to have dublin fire brigade acknowledge his life saving actions.' Another person said: 'Great to see he got the acknowledgement he deserves. True hero that day.' And a third added: 'Outstanding! Very quick thinking by Tomaz. Fantastic that the Fire Brigade have recognised his actions so quickly.'
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
Dublin Fire Brigade presents plaque to lorry driver who saved man from burning building
Dublin Fire Brigade has presented a lorry driver with a plaque after he saved a man from a burning building in the capital last week. On Tuesday evening, Chief Fire Officer Dennis Keeley presented Tomasz Zareba with the plaque in Dublin city. Chief Fire Officer Dennis Keeley presented Tomasz Zareba with the plaque on Tuesday evening. Photograph: Dublin Fire Brigade On June 23rd, Mr Zareba, who delivers groceries for the Eurospar supermarket chain, was driving when he passed a burning building on Granby Row in Dublin's north inner city. He parked his lorry outside the building, allowing a man to jump from a window and land on the vehicle . READ MORE Earlier this evening, our Chief Fire Officer presented Tomaz with a plaque to acknowledge his quick actions by positioning his delivery truck to assist in the rescue of people from a fire. Tomaz met with some of the Firefighter/Paramedics who were at the scene. — Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) Speaking to The Irish Times last week, Mr Zareba said he 'thought it would be much safer for [the man] to jump on the lorry instead of the footpath'. The driver had already seen someone jump from the building before parking his lorry beside the window. 'One guy was lying on the footpath. He had blood on his face, and I think he might have broken both his legs when he jumped from the building,' he said. He then saw another man 'screaming from the window', causing him to intervene. 'I reversed the lorry as close as I safely could to the window, and the other lads from the footpath told him to jump on the roof of the lorry,' Mr Zareba said. 'He was okay, I think. I asked him how many people were in the building, but he didn't know because he was in shock.' The lorry driver waited at the scene 'in case maybe somebody else would need to jump from the window'. Once Dublin Fire Brigade arrived, Mr Zareba left and continued his deliveries for the day. After he received his plaque on Tuesday, Mr Zareba met some of the firefighters and paramedics who attended the scene last week. A spokesperson for DFB said the plaque was presented to Mr Zareba 'to acknowledge his quick actions' in saving the man from the fire.
