Builders help rescue fire family

Gary Collins shakes hands with Stuart Burrell, father of the rescued children

Gary Collins (left) helped rescue a mother and two children

A mother and her two young sons could have been killed in a fire had it not been for the actions of nearby workmen, Nottinghamshire fire service said.

The blaze started at the property in Lord Street, Mansfield, at about 0930 GMT on Tuesday.

Gary Collins and Martyn Oliver used a ladder to bring a six-month-old baby and a three-year-old boy to safety before fire crews arrived at the scene.

The family and one of the rescuers were taken to hospital for medical checks.

Bravery commendation

The two scaffold erecting engineers ran to the house with a ladder after hearing screams.

They found a woman leaning out of an upstairs window holding a baby and helped them down. The mother then told them her other child was in a bedroom at the back of the house.

Mr Oliver smashed the windows, went in and got the older boy.

Mr Collins said: "Martyn just shouted 'the house is on fire' so I just sprinted out. I didn't think anything of it.

"And it was just a case of no matter how bad the smoke was, we knew that there was a little lad in there so it was a case of keep going until we get him out."

The two men are to be put forward for a bravery commendation by the chief fire officer.

Darren Warner, watch manager at Mansfield fire station, said: "Had it not been for [Mr Oliver's] actions along with his colleague, who assisted him to give him access to the property, we could have been looking at three fatalities."