A group of young people who got elderly people to safety when fire broke out in a row of bungalows in Holbeach have been praised for their quick-thinking and maturity.
The group of nine 16-year-olds were renovating the gardens of Patchett Lodge sheltered housing as part of the National Citizens’ Scheme when they spotted fire coming from the roof of one of the bungalows.
A visitor at the Lodge watched them as they ran to the bungalows to alert the residents and bring them to safety.
She said: “Credit should be given where credit is due. Young people get such bad press but they are not all like that.
”They did an amazing job calling the emergency services and helping the elderly residents.”
Fire broke out in the roof space of a bungalow in St Matthew’s Close on Tuesday when a pest control man used fire to dispose of a wasps nest.
He came down from the false roof, shouting to the occupants Albert Busley (85) and Kathleen (82) to “get out” but left them in the burning building and fled the scene in a van.
Although he later told the contractor he had alerted the other residents in the block of four bungalows before he “panicked” and drove off, the witness said it was the young people who raised the alarm and called the emergency services.
She said: “One of them even ran after the man in the van to get his registration number as he mounted the kerb trying to get away so fast.
“He never shouted to them to get it – he was an utter coward. It was the young people who together got all of the elderly people out and found them chairs because they were all very distressed.”
Kevin Bowers, the group’s mentor on the project, said he was very proud of the teenagers in his team, who had been working at Patchett Lodge for five days.
He said: “We’d been renovating the gardens and just giving them a little love, washing the patio and planting new flowers.
“The group had also created a sensory garden from scratch.
“When the fire broke out and they saw the smoke they were first on the scene.
“They rang the emergency services and knocked on all the doors to bring the residents to safety.
“Some went to fetch chairs so the residents had somewhere to sit because they were so upset.
“They had done a fantastic job on the garden and with this they acted with so much maturity.
“Everyone at the National Citizens’ Scheme is very proud of them and we are delighted someone took the time to call the Free Press.”