Grandma thanks fire 'heroes' who rescued family
BBCA grandma who was saved from a fire by two young men who happened to be driving past has described them as "my heroes".
Sheila Robinson, 77, said she was "terrified" by the fire, which started in the garden of her house in Kirkstall, Leeds, on 19 June, and took two crews to extinguish.
West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said the fire on Lea Farm Road had spread from the fence to the garage because a "combustible article" was too close to a controlled fire.
"I can't thank them enough, ever for what they did, absolutely brilliant. They probably saved my home and my grandson," said Robinson .
Mohsin Qayyum, 22, from Leeds, and Muhammed Yusuf Iqbal, 20, from Bradford, were driving past the house when they spotted the fire and a man trying to put it out with a hose.
Robinson said she thought the men deserved medals.
"I'm forever grateful. If I ever win the lottery, you'll be the first I treat," she said.
"They were absolutely brilliant."
The fire started on Robinson's birthday, near a wooden fence outside the family's garden.
It spread to the hedge and was coming towards the house when Qayyum and Iqbal stopped to help.
Robinson described them as "braver than brave".
"They ran over this roof and the shed, everything was in flames," she said.
"My grandson burnt his hand, just a little. We didn't think it was too bad at first but as they days have gone on it's blistered and burst.
"I never want to go through it again as long as I live."
The men ran across the garage roof and knocked down the garden fences to help Robinson, her husband and 14-year-old grandson leave safely.
The fire service then arrived to put out the remaining flames.
The men - who have since been invited to visit a fire station near Manchester - said they did not stop to help for the praise but because it seemed like the right thing to do.
"I just did anything anyone would do to help, to be honest," said Yusuf.
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