Heroic mum rushes into blazing Derbyshire house to save pensioner

The pensioner was trapped in the front room of her bungalow on Alfreton Road, Blackwell, as flames engulfed the property at around 8:58am on Thursday, March 4.

Lauren Mottram, 29, was passing the scene with her eight-year-old son and, after noticing the smoke and hearing the woman’s cries for help, rushed into action.

Without hesitation, the single mother kicked her way through the front door and managed to drag the elderly woman free before calling emergency services and then alerting the woman living in the adjoining property.

Ms Mottram said: “I was taking my son to school, we were late as usual, but as we got near the shop I could see smoke coming from the windows and doors and it wasn’t a lot at that point but I could hear the smoke alarms.

"There was another lady outside on the school run so I sent my son to her then sent him to my mum’s for her to take him to school because I knew I was going to go straight in.

"I’m from Blackwell so I knew it was an old woman who lived on her own and I could see the flames through the window so I ran across and just kicked the door open.

"I couldn’t see a thing. I just kept shouting ‘hello’ and she was just shouting ‘help me’. She was trying to get out the living room where the fire was, the flames were hitting the roof at this point.

"She couldn’t hold her zimmer frame because the metal was too hot so I just got her arms and pulled her out through the door.

“I then went round next door banging on their door to get them out while on the phone to the fire brigade. Next minute it just went whoosh and the windows came through, glass was shattered everywhere and the roof caved in. It was dreadful.”

Two fire crews from Alfreton and Nottinghamshire’s Ashfield Station were on the scene within minutes, with the pensioner then being handed into the care of East Midlands Ambulance Service.

Ms Mottram was also taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation but is now back at home.

She has since heard from family of the elderly woman, who said she is doing well.

“For me its natural that instinct, surely it’s what anyone else would do. People are telling me different but I’d hope if it were me that somebody would help me in that situation,” Ms Mottram added.

Ms Mottram’s brother-in-law, Wayne Mclaughlin, described her as “loving” and someone that would do anything for the elderly.

Fire Station Manager Steve Ratcliffe said: “The occupant of the property had an extremely lucky escape as she was rescued and brought to safety by two people passing by who heard the smoke alarm before the arrival of the fire service.

"Tragically the ladies dog died as a result of the fire, underlining just how serious this incident was.”

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue said an investigation has concluded that the most likely cause of the fire was accidental due to smoking materials.

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