Two neighbours rescued a woman from a fire in a Northampton block of flats after a suspected arson attack.
Andy Trebilcok was in bed at 11pm on Tuesday when he heard a noise “like a firework going off”. He looked outof the window and saw the two-storey flat opposite in Stonebridge Court, Lings, was on fire.
He said: “There was a fire in the bin cupboard right near the entrance door and a woman on the first floor was calling for help from the window.
“I pulled on some clothes and pegged it outside to get people out.
“I was banging on the windows getting people out of bed when a woman on the first floor started shouting: ‘I’m trapped, I’m trapped”.
Helped by neighbour, Paul Felton, Mr Trebilcok used a ladder he kept in his garden to get to the woman. She managed to hand her dog out the window and Mr Felton took it away to safety.
The pair then coaxed the shaken woman onto the ladder and away from the fire.
Mr Trebilcok said: “The police said she could have been in real trouble from smoke inhalation. It was gut instinct rather than thinking what I should do, but I’m glad we could help get her out quickly.”
Firefighters also gave a man on the first floor oxygen then led him to safety.
The blaze largely melted the entrance door. The fire service said a bin store beside the door suffered severe damage by fire and the stairwell was badly damaged by heat and smoke.