'Hero' binman rescues man, woman and dog from fire

Kevin Marriott (left) and Steve Whitehouse (right) spotted the fire while working their bin round in Tipton

A binman has been hailed a hero after rescuing a man, a woman, and a dog from a fire while doing his round.

Steve Whitehouse and Kevin Marriott were working in Tipton on Tuesday morning when they spotted a blaze tearing through a maisonette on Ridgeway Road.

Mr Whitehouse climbed up to a first-floor balcony three times to rescue the trio from the flames.

Mr Whitehouse said: "I saw a young woman screaming from the balcony and all I could think was that I needed to get to her as quickly as possible."

Steve Whitehouse climbed up to the balcony three times to rescue the trio

The fire is believed to have started when an e-bike battery exploded while on charge at the bottom of the stairs – cutting off the occupants’ escape route.

Within seconds of spotting the fire, Mr Whitehouse got out of the bin lorry, leapt over a fence, and scaled a wall to the maisonette balcony, from which he pulled the woman to safety.

"The smoke was getting thicker. I called to anyone else who might be inside and could hear a young man shouting in distress for his dog," the 49-year-old Serco employee said.

"I managed to bundle up the dog in a blanket, jumped back down to the ground, and got the owner to throw the dog to me. I then went back up to help him.”

Once Mr Whitehouse had completed the rescues, he started banging on neighbours’ doors to alert them to the danger.

Mr Marriott tended to neighbours who had evacuated their homes for safety, and let Mr Whitehouse's family know what was happening.

Later, once they had recovered over a coffee, the pair continued with their round.

Mr Whitehouse has worked as a refuse operative in Sandwell since 2007.

“I wanted to be sure that all our customers got their collections. But that’s just me – it will probably sink in later today what actually happened,” he added.

The fire service praised "Steve’s incredible bravery"

The fire affected the entire flat and destroyed its contents

Four fire engines crewed by a total of 19 firefighters responded to the incident.

Fire crews gave first aid to a man in his 20s before he was taken to hospital suffering from the effects of smoke.

A woman, also in her 20s, was checked over at the scene by paramedics.

The dog was given oxygen therapy by firefighters.

Incident commander Chris Green said: "It was clear as we approached that this was a severe fire.

"I have no doubt that without Steve’s incredible bravery the outcome could have been very different.

"I have no idea how he managed to do what he did. It was heroic. The fire and smoke were coming out of the property’s rear door like a blow torch.

"One rescue would have been remarkable. To save the lives of two people and a dog is staggering. We will be putting him forward for official recognition."