Dean Dawson

A postman who helped to rescue a neighbour and their Dog from a burning building said it was " scary how quickly everything happened".

Dean Dawson , 30, went to the aid of John Willmott whose house caught fire when a discarded cigarette set a garden fence alight.

Mr Dawson said " without thinking" he ran to check Mr Willmott was ok.

Four terraced houses on Walter Close in Swindon were on Thursday.

" I know you hear about it All The Time , but Until You see it, it is scary how quickly it happened, " the father-of-one said.

Mr Dawson's partner, Brittany, was The First to spot smoke coming from a nearby house at about 15:14 BST.

" I ran out into The Garden to check what it was and realised one of The Fence panels had caught fire, " Mr Dawson said.

He Said he heard a lady and her children shouting for help, but as they were safely away from The Fire , his thoughts turned to his neighbour, whom he had lived behind for three years.

" I just needed to get to him to make sure he was ok and out of The House , " Mr Dawson said.

" As I got through The Door he was there and looked really confused. . he just dropped to the floor clutching his chest.

" Instantly I thought 'he's going to have a Heart Attack , there's something going on'.

" I knelt down next to him, I have a bit of experience with calming down Panic Attacks , and just talked to him, tried to reassure him, told him to breathe and that it was going to be alright and we would get him out of The House . "

Mr Dawson, who has worked as a postman in Swindon for Six Years , was helped by three Other People - All of whom work for Royal Mail .

" There were four of us, we were like The First emergency response, " Mr Dawson said.

" Then someone said 'what about The Dog ?' - and I was thinking 'oh Jesus', but without thinking I ran back in and got The Dog out and gave him to one of The Lads outside. "

After fetching Daisy the Golden Retriever , Mr Dawson went back for a third time hoping to Do Something to slow down The Flames .

He Said he shut some doors and turned off a fan, but soon " The Flames were way too high and smoke was Coming In everywhere".

Reflecting on his actions, Mr Dawson said it was " probably stupid, as much as selfless".

Mr Dawson praised the actions of The Fire service that attended with about 50 firefighters.

" The Fire crew response was incredible, how quickly they got there and how hard they worked, " Mr Dawson said.

" They were there in no time, just everyone who responded, The Police as well. "

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said One Man was treated for smoke inhalation but everybody else was able to leave the homes without injury.

A spokeswoman for The Fire service said: " The Fire started accidentally due to a discarded cigarette which set a fence between two gardens alight, which then spread to the houses. "

The community has since Set Up a fundraising page to support those affected by The Fire .

Source of news: bbc.com