Heroic Leeds neighbours praised for saving man's life after he was set alight in traumatic Moortown fire

Stephen Carroll, 65, is seriously injured and in intensive care after the traumatic incident on Thursday afternoon.

He was lighting a fire in his father-in-law's garden, near his home on Black Moor Road in Moortown, when he caught alight.

Hearing his screams his neighbours, Emma Coulson and her dad Mark, ran over to the house and Emma says that's when her instinct kicked in.

She threw a large towel over Stephen and doused him in water using a garden hose until paramedics arrived.

Incredibly, Stephen survived but he is fighting for his life in the intensive care unit at Pinderfields Hospital.

His wife Janet, 63, said: "Stephen was trying to do a good deed for my 90-year-old dad, who has dementia, by getting rid of some hedges that had been cut down.

"He tried to light a fire using a little petrol and there must have been a flashback, as he caught alight. My son was there and said Stephen was in flames from the waist up.

"Our neighbours heard the screams and ran round to the house, taking over from my son and hosing him down with water while my son rang 999.

"They put a large towel over him and stayed with him when the paramedics arrived and were working on him. They kept my husband calm and constantly talked to him."

An ambulance response crew, two ambulances, firefighters and police were rushed to the house, where they treated Stephen before taking him to hospital.

Stephen suffered serious injuries in the fire and is in an induced coma on a ventilator in the intensive care unit.

His right arm was severely burned and he underwent skin graft surgery on Monday.

Janet said there are 'not enough words' to thank her neighbours, who she has known for 30 years, for saving Stephen's life.

She added: "They were so brave and put their lives at risk, showing kindness to my husband even when they could have been burnt themselves.

"They saved his life, without their bravery my husband would not be here today. They deserve a medal for what they did."

Emma, 39, has worked as an administrator for the NHS and private healthcare sector for 24 years and said her instinct 'just kicked in'.

She has been shaken up by the incident but was shocked at how calm she remained while treating Stephen.

Emma said: "It was surreal and took me a couple of days to get my head around what happened, I've never seen anything like it.

"You doubt how you would react in a situation like that, but I think my instincts just kicked in and I was fortunate enough to know that you need to keep burns underwater for 20 minutes.

"I phoned an old colleague who is a consultant and he told me to keep doing what I was doing.

"Later on, he said I sounded so calm on the phone and that I could have saved a life - it was only hearing that when it hit me what had happened.

"My dad is my rock and I'm glad he was there with me, I’m proud we were able to do this together and help save Stephen's life."

Emma said she has a newfound admiration for the emergency services following the ordeal.

She added: "I don't know how the emergency services do the things they do, how they cope with the things they must see on a daily basis.

"Being in their situation myself opened my eyes to exactly what these people go through and do for us.

"I'm just glad I was around to help. I've known the family for 30 years, but I'd do it for anybody and I know anyone would do the same for our family."

Janet and her two sons, 40-year-old Craig and 38-year-old James, are unable to visit Stephen due to current Covid-19 restrictions at the hospital.

The family are devastated that they will not be by Stephen's side when he wakes up.

Janet said: "We've seen him on video, which was awful, but we're still not allowed in the hospital. It's the heartbreak that this Covid is causing.

"Thankfully he is in the wonderful care of staff at Pinderfields, who are having to cope with relatives in bits because they can't see their loved ones.

"We have left him a few photos of the family so that when he wakes up he can see us.

"But I would be there now, living in a chair. I just want to be near him and we can't."

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Thank you

Laura Collins