Woman saves the life of the man she calls dad

Firefighters at the scene following blaze at George Street, Mansfield.

Sandra Parkin raised the alarm after she found pensioner Malcolm Gregg suffering from burns and smoke inhalation in his smoke filled living room.

This week, Mr Gregg , 70, was in a critical condition at Nottingham City Hospital after the blaze on George street.

Sandra Parkin told Chad she raised the alarm at 10 am.

She said: “I was first in there - it was horrible.

“I looked across the street and I saw his nets were black so I knew there had been a fire.

“I ran across and opened the door and the smoke hit me.

“I was shouting and screaming on the street because I couldn’t get to him.

She said another neighbour came to help rescue Mr Gregg.

Sandra added: “ He looked badly burned, I hope he is going to be OK.

Sandra added: “I have looked after Malcolm for five years, he is like a dad to me.

“My partner always goes to see him every morning to make him a cup of tea.”

Mr Gregg’s family have paid tribute to Sandra this week.

Wendy Markley-Gregg, wife of Mr Gregg’s younger brother Stuart, said on Thursday: “If it wasn’t for Sandra things could have been a lot worse. I know she has been traumatised by it all and has flash backs.

“If she had ever moved away things would have been a lot different. We owe her a lot.”

Police and fire service officers are investigating the cause of the incident,which they say was not suspicious.

Firefighters from Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service visited the area around George Street to promote fire safety amongst residents.

Fire safety advice was given to people in the area and residents were able to have a chat with firefighters .

Station Manager Matt Reavill, the Service’s Head of Community Safety for the north area, said: “When there is a serious house fire in an area – particularly in such a close knit community like this – people are naturally going to be concerned,” said “For this reason our Risk Reduction Officers have been out and about in the area to show a visible fire service presence and to talk to residents and reassure them that house fires can be prevented.

“We want to help people understand how they can reduce the risk of fires in their own homes and if people want to chat about fire safety then we would encourage them to come and see us and we can offer guidance.”

Amongst other topics, the teams talked about cooking safely, the importance of smoke alarms, keeping doors closed at night and making sure cigarettes are properly stubbed out and disposed of. The safety team can be contacted on 0800 022 3235.