Men hailed as heroes after Southend fire

Two young men are being hailed as heroes today after spotting a fire on the way home from an Essex nightclub.

The men were in Bournemouth Park Road in the early hours of Saturday when they spotted a fire in the porch of the flats and alerted the fire service and all of the residents living in the two flats.

Three fire engines were called at 03.36am and found a fire in the porch of a Victorian house which has been converted into flats. The blaze was extinguished by 03.52am.

Assistant divisional officer, Neil Fenwick, said: “These two young men are heroes and deserve the thanks of everyone who lives in that building.

“As they were walking home they saw smoke and flames coming out of the porch.

“One of them called the fire service while the other broke a window to gain entry to the building and then alerted all of the residents that there was a fire.

“If it hadn't been for these two men the fire could have raged on and claimed the lives of the people living in the flats.

“There were no smoke alarms and everyone was asleep and would have been completely unaware of the fire - perhaps until it was too late.”

Mr Fenwick said an investigation was underway but it was too early to say what caused the fire.