A police constable has been praised for his bravery after he ran into a blazing building and rescued 15 people in the early hours of Saturday 4 February.
PC Matt Hill was the first response officer at the fire, which had taken hold inside a large grocery shop – B&B Cash and Carry – in Ilford, east London.
When PC Hill arrived he was informed by members of the public that people were trapped upstairs in flats above the store, which sits in the middle of a terraced block. The police officer acted without hesitation and ran into the smoke-filled building to help those inside.
As he reached the top of the stairs, the 39-year old constable discovered that the front rooms were also ablaze and that the only way out was via the rear fire escape.
However, with the help of two members of the public who had followed him into the building, PC Hill managed to lead them all to safety.
London Fire Brigade was called at 4.20 am and the fire was brought under control an hour later. Two fire engines from Ilford Fire Station and two from Barking were at the scene, and around 20 firefighters were in attendance to help extinguish the blaze.
Fire spread rapidly
PC Hill commented: "It was incredible how quickly the flames engulfed the building, but with the help of two members of the public who followed me up the stairs, we managed to get everyone to safety and without injury.”
He added: "When I arrived on scene and realised that people were trapped, my instincts took over. The priority was to get everyone out as quickly as possible."
All those rescued were ushered into police carriers so that they could be kept warm before being taken to local authority accommodation.
Inspector Paul Vear praised the bravery and initiative of PC Hill. He said:
"I’m quite sure that the actions of PC Hill and the two members of the public saved lives. They went into a blazing and smoke-filled building with the sole purpose of helping those trapped inside."
Neither PC Hill nor the two members of the public suffered any injury.
The cause of the fire – which damaged around half of the shop – is being treated as suspicious and remains under investigation.
