Gas engineers honoured after saving teen from fire

Joe Hobbs, Jack Lord, and Steve Hobbs after being honoured by Cadent Gas

A gas engineer described how "the adrenaline kicked in" as he and his colleagues rescued a teenager from a house fire.

Stephen Hobbs, his son Joseph and Jack Lord were working for Cadent Gas in Felixstowe, Suffolk in December when they spotted black smoke.

They went into the property, where they found a bed "fully ablaze" and a 17-year-old boy sleeping, Mr Hobbs said. It had been caused by an overheated hairdryer being left on.

The men have been given awards by their employer and will receive fire service commendations later this year after a chief officer said their actions "undoubtedly saved a life".

"My worst fear was the fire would spread to the neighbouring property," explained Mr Hobbs, 51, from Ipswich.

"I wasn't scared but I think the adrenaline kicked in and you sort of think about how dangerous it is going to be and the safety of the people.

"We get called to quite a lot of house fires but usually after the fire, so it all seemed a bit surreal because it is not something we see every day."

Four fire engines were sent to the scene but the men had already extinguished the flames by the time they arrived.

Despite suffering from smoke inhalation, the teenager made a full recovery.

Firefighter Glen Saunders said: "While we strongly advise against members of the public tackling fires themselves, had they not acted as they did that day, we could very well have been attending a loss-of-life incident."

Chief fire officer, Jon Lacey, said: "They showed outstanding bravery, quick-thinking and teamwork, and their actions undoubtedly saved a life and prevented considerable damage to the property."