A refuse collector has been hailed as a hero after he rescued a family from a house fire – and then finished off his round.
Steve Whitehouse was on his usual round in Tipton in the West Midlands in England on Tuesday, February 27, when he saw flames coming from a second-floor maisonette.
Whitehouse said after seeing the flames he jumped over a fence and climbed up a balcony to get to the family, who were trapped in their home as their only means of exit was blocked.
He first saved a dog, then returned to rescue a man and woman.
The vicious fire, which is believed to have been started by an e-bike battery that exploded, gutted the maisonette and its contents, but fortunately nobody was serious hurt. The couple in their twenties were given first aid, while the dog received oxygen.
Speaking to local radio station BBC Radio WM, Whitehouse admitted that after his dramatic exploits he did get emotional, but he was checked over by emergency services and given the all-clear. Then, amazingly, after what he described as “a strong good cup of tea” from a local fast food outlet, he went back to his work and completed his work.
“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.
Whitehouse, who was working with his best friend from childhood, Kevin Marriott, thought initially it was a factory fire, until they spotted a woman on the balcony shouting for help.
“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,” Whitehouse said.
“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. 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 Whitehouse had completed the rescues, he started banging on neighbours’ doors to alert them to the danger. Marriott tended to neighbours who’d evacuated their homes for safety and let Whitehouse’s family know what was happening.
Four fire engines crewed by a total of 19 firefighters responded, from Tipton, Dudley, Bilston and Wednesbury fire stations.
