Midlothian teenager hailed hero after rescuing man in wheelchair from burning flat

Kaiden McCann, from Newtongrange, was sitting in the garden with his girlfriend’s dad, George Dobbie, on Sunday evening when they noticed smoke coming from an apartment building across the road in the village’s Arrol Place.

The pair walked over to have a closer look and quickly realised the whole apartment building was filled with smoke.

Mr Dobbie alerted the neighbours while the brave 19-year-old sprung into action and ran inside the block to check whether anyone was there.

“I found the man sitting on the floor,” he said. “I ran in, grabbed him and put him on the grass outside the house.

“Then I went back in and grabbed his wheelchair and the two towels which were ablaze. I dumped them on the grass and put him back in the wheelchair.”

Mr McCann said the situation, which unfolded within the space of about five minutes, felt like a blur.

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“I can’t even remember what I was feeling,” he said. “When something like that happens, there’s no time for thoughts or feelings.”

He continued: “In his flat, you couldn’t see a thing. That’s how thick the smoke was. The floor was burnt through and the two towels were covered in flames.”

It is understood the man had fallen asleep with a cigarette in his hand, which caught fire on the floor.

Fire crews were alerted to the fire at around 5.53pm, and operations control dispatched three fire appliances to the scene. Two ambulances were also called as firefighters extinguished the blaze.

The man was treated at the scene by paramedics but was not injured. Firefighters remained at the scene for over two hours, leaving just after 8.30pm.

Local residents were unanimous in their praise for Kaiden’s role in saving the man, with one neighbour reportedly saying: “If it wasn’t for Kaiden’s quick thinking, God knows what would have happened.”

Mr McCann said he hasn’t spoken to the man since the incident, but says he is glad to hear that he is okay.

“The main thing is that he was alright and he got out safely,” he added.