Reading fire: Crane operator thanked for 'skilful rescue'

A crane worker who lifted a man to safety from a burning high-rise building in Reading has been thanked by the fire service.

The large fire broke out at the Station Hill development site in the Berkshire town on Thursday morning.

Crane operator Glen Edwards used a cage to rescue the workman, who was surrounded by flames and thick smoke.

The fire service said: "Without their actions, we may be looking at an entirely different scenario."

Glen Edwards had been working at the site before the blaze broke out but played down his heroics

Mr Edwards lifted a man to safety from the fire as flames and smoke billowed around him

Wayne Bowcock, chief fire officer at Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue, said: "I would like to add my thanks to the crane operator for an incredibly skilful rescue under extremely difficult circumstances."

Footage captured by bystanders showed the moment Mr Edwards, 65, used the winch he was operating to move a cage towards the workman.

Crowds below broke out in applause as the man was lifted in the air and down to safety.

Mr Edwards, who had been working at the site before the blaze broke out, played down his heroics.

"I don't want to blow it up too much, I'm not that sort of person," he said.

At the scene

By Alex Meakin, BBC News

It's very quiet here, especially compared to how it was yesterday.

There are a few roads directly around the building which are still closed, with fire and rescue tape up and steel fences still in place.

The lights are on in the Station Hill development this morning and, as I look up at the building, the damage is clear to see seven or eight storeys up, where the glass is warped. It's shattered across two floors.

You can see into the building, crystal clear, on the floors directly below the scar of where that fire was, but in the floors above that, light is dim - you can see the glass has been blackened and charred by the smoke.

The damage to the high-rise building following the fire

Another man was also lifted from the building by crane, firefighters said.

South Central Ambulance Service said two people were taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, but neither case was severe.

Mr Bowcock added: "On behalf of the service, I would like to extend our best wishes to the two people who were rescued from the building and wish them a speedy recovery."

Sir Robert McAlpine, the firm behind the build, said: "We are immensely proud of those on site whose actions helped ensure a safe evacuation.

"Our site safety procedures and training for dealing with an incident of this nature worked and everyone is safe."

A spokesman for the construction and civil engineering company added: "We are getting in touch with all those affected and are offering support from wellbeing professionals. Fortunately, incidents of this nature are extremely rare.

"The site has been safely secured and a thorough investigation is underway, meaning at this stage we are unable to comment further".

A HSE spokesperson said: "We are aware of this incident and making enquiries."

The fire service said all other people had been accounted for.

At 14:20 GMT on Thursday, the fire service confirmed the fire had been put out. At its peak, more than 50 firefighters were on the scene from fire stations across the county.

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