Hero neighbors save sleeping grandmother from burning home

By Nathan Pynn

Hero neighbors raced into a burning home to save an 87-year-old grandmother after her daughter watched the terrifying fire on a doorbell camera.

Phyllis Day, who has Alzheimer’s, was asleep when a blaze broke out in the utility room of her home in Wigston, Leicestershire.

Neighbors spotted flames and smoke billowing from the property at around 11:30 p.m. last Thursday, June 25, and charged around to help.

Daughter Suzanne Wright was at home five miles away when she was woken up by the doorbell alarm alerting her to activity at her mom’s house.

She watched in horror as around eight people tried to smash their way inside and initially thought they were drunk thugs attacking her mom's home.

Using the intercom system on the doorbell, Wright realized the people were her mom's neighbors and she guided them to a key box outside.

Wright, 56, said: "It was just pure luck that her neighbors saw the flames and dashed around to help.

“I was asleep when I received an alert on my phone from the doorbell camera.

"I could see a couple of men without tops on hammering on the door and my first thought was they were drunk or trying to break into mom's house.

“There were then lots of people outside trying to ram their way inside and a man was shouting ‘get out, there’s a fire’.

“I was able to speak to them on the intercom on the camera and explained I lived elsewhere but my mom was inside."

Wright, a full-time caregiver for her mom, quickly dressed and as her husband drove the five miles to Day's home, she watched as the neighbors rushed to save her mom.

She said: "I was able to give them instructions about where to find the key box and what the code was.

"At one point I lost visual and could just hear shouting and screaming, it was terrifying.

"Luckily it came back on and I could see mom being led by the arm outside."

Fire investigators believe an electrical fault in the kitchen or utility room may have started the blaze.

Wright says she believes her mom, who has been living alone since her husband Charlie, 79, died in 2018, could not hear the smoke alarms.

She said: “My mom took her hearing aids out before going to bed which is why she couldn’t hear the smoke alarms going off.

“She was completely oblivious to the fire in her home.”

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Neighbors Pav Sarpal, 28, and Stephan Smart, 44, ran into the house to rescue Day.

Pav said: "It's the worst thing I've ever seen in my life, all I could see were flames and smoke and it was getting worse by the second.

"When the door opened I ran in first but I couldn't breathe. I told Stephan to get me a towel so I could go upstairs where Phyllis was asleep.

"I was coughing so much, the smoke was the worst thing — it was everywhere.

"It felt like I was being physically choked by the smoke. I had to run downstairs twice to get fresh air before heading up to bring Sue's mom down."

Smart added: "I just saw flames coming straight through the kitchen door.

"I panicked a little to start with but I knew somebody was upstairs and I had to get up there and get her down as quickly as possible.

"When we found her bedroom we woke Phyllis up but she looked at me like I was going to rob her.

"I told her there was a fire and she needed to come with us and we gently got her out of bed."

Smart and Pav took an arm each as they helped Day down the stairs and out of the front door.

Another neighbor, Dean Archer, 30, also rushed to help when he heard a loud explosion come from inside the house.

He said: "I was in bed when I heard a bang. I got dressed as quick as I could and ran down to the house and saw it was on fire and I tried to barge the door down.

"Sue came through the intercom of the doorbell cam and was giving us instructions about where to get the keys from.

"When we got inside it was really smoky and dark and I was trying to find a light switch and fumbling all around.

"It was a mad panic really. Stephan and Pav got up the stairs and managed to bring her down and luckily we got her out just in time.

"It felt like it took ages, everything was in slow motion."

Shocking pictures show the charred remains of the bottom floor of the three-bedroom detached property.

Day, who has 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, will now stay with Wright until her home is repaired.

Wright added: "I cannot thank the neighbors enough. They are absolute superheroes and I think King Charles should knight them all."

Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said: "While we understand that the neighbors acted in the best intentions in rescuing the resident, we would urge the public not to enter buildings that are on fire, for any reason, as doing so endangers more lives.

"Smoke inhalation can quickly disorient, injure and incapacitate."