'A very close call': Crane driver hailed as a hero for winching carpenter out of burning high-rise tower
23 November 2023, 16:35 | Updated: 23 November 2023, 18:07
Trapped man rescued after fire in Reading
A crane operator has been hailed as a hero for winching a carpenter out of a burning high-rise building as a blaze broke out in Reading.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Glen Edwards said Thursday was "not your average day at work" after he lowered a cage onto the tower so the man could escape.
A bystander caught the moment the worker, dressed all in black with a hard hat, tries to grab onto a rescue cage that's been winched down from a crane as the fire rages nearby.
Footage shows the carpenter lean against the edge of the tall building - some eight storeys up - as he tries to avoid the flames and smoke before finally grabbing onto the cage and locking himself inside as his worried colleagues look on.
He manages to lie down inside and is winched to safety as the fire engulfs the building.
Crowds of onlookers, many filming with their phones, applaud as he is finally hoisted off the tower, which is part of the Station Hill development site. Firefighters said a second man had also been rescued by crane.
Speaking after the rescue, Edwards said: "I was no more than 20 metres up in the air and I looked out my left-hand window and saw a guy standing on the corner of the building.
"I'd only just seen him and someone said 'can you get the cage on', so that was it, I got the cage on and got it over to him the best I could. It was quite windy conditions."
He added: "I would say it was a very close call, if you look at the video at the way the wind was swirling around there.
"I tried to put the cage down between him and the flames, but I was hampered by the wind swirling around there.
"But I got the cage down and I managed to get him in there."
Another construction worker hailed him as a hero and said had Edwards not managed to rescue the man as fast "it would have been a very different ending".
An eyewitness, who did not want to be named, said: "I was in the next door building, there was a guy standing up there (on top of the building), luckily the crane came in just in time.
"He was coughing [when he came down], from the smoke. When he got inside the crane and the crane put him down everyone was clapping.
"The crane driver was very fast. He was still in the crane while the building was on fire."
Two people were taken to hospital to be assessed and receive treatment for smoke inhalation but neither were "severe" cases, according to South Central Ambulance Service.
The construction site caught on fire on Thursday morning, sending smoke billowing over the centre of the Berkshire town.
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue said: "Just after half 11 today, we received reports of a fire on Station Hill in Reading. At its peak, over 50 firefighters were on the scene from fire stations across the county.
"Crews found the fire in a high-rise building under construction. Firefighters equipped with breathing apparatus used two main jets to extinguish the fire.
"We understand that two people were rescued by a crane and have been placed in the care of South Central Ambulance Service and fortunately, all other people were accounted for.
"The fire has now been extinguished and we have scaled back our resources at the incident, but a number of crews will remain at the scene at this time to dampen down."
Redwood Consulting, a PR group, said on behalf of the Station Hill development project: "We activated our fire emergency plans immediately, the emergency services were notified and are currently on site.
"The safety of those on site and the wider public is always our first priority, and the site has been evacuated as a result. As soon as we have more information we will provide an update."
