'I don't want to be called a hero': Sheffield woman speaks out after rescuing toddler from burning block of flats

Little Julia Salar was wrapped in a curtain by her dad Salar Omar and lowered into the arms of Maxine Claxton, who lives across the street and had rushed to their aid after hearing cries for help in Batemoor last night.

Julia, her dad and her mum, Saz, are thankfully all doing well after the blaze, which broke out in a neighbouring flat on Batemoor Road at around 8.30pm on Monday, January 18, with Salar describing how ‘grateful’ they are to Maxine for ‘saving our baby’.

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But Maxine, a 29-year-old mum-of-four, has played down her role in the drama, modestly saying ‘I don’t want to be called a hero’ and asking not to be in a photo.

“I was inside and heard someone screaming ‘help’ so I went to the window and saw the smoke pouring out of the building,” she said.

"I ran across the road and into the block of flats and started banging on the doors of the ground floor flats to get people out.

"I’ve got asthma and had to come out for a breather because the smoke was so thick.

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"I heard someone screaming from the side so I ran round and there was a mum and dad with their baby daughter at the window of a first-floor flat.

"They asked me to catch the baby as they lowered her down using a curtain. I grabbed the little one and passed her to the man nearest to me.

“We were going to help the girl’s mum and dad down next but at that point the fire service arrived and told them to stay inside and wait to be rescued via a ladder.

"When I ran across the road it was just me and one man there but when I turned round after all that there must have been more than 70 people standing outside.

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"I can’t imagine having to lower my children out of a window like that, and I’m just glad the little girl’s OK.

"I’m still in shock, as are my four boys. They keep saying ‘Mum’s a hero’ but I don’t want to be called a hero. I just did what any human would do hopefully.”

At least one other person had to be rescued from the flat by firefighters, with neighbours telling how a man living on the top floor of the three-storey block was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation, but police said nobody had been seriously injured.

South Yorkshire Police said it was reported that a first-floor flat had been deliberately set alight and three men had been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life.

Neighbours told how one man had shimmied down a drainpipe to escape from a second-storey flat before firefighters arrived. They also said a number of pets had to taken to safety.

The first-floor flat in which the fire started was gutted, with the flat below being badly water damaged.

Julia’s relieved dad Salar said he and his wife were still processing what had happened but that they were all ‘doing fine’.

"I heard some shouting and didn’t think much of it but then a few minutes later I could smell burning and saw smoke coming under the door,” said the 46-year-old, who works part time washing cars.

"We opened the door and there was full smoke and no chance to get out. My wife was thinking we're finished but I said no, we've got the window and it's not too high. It's not a problem.

"There was a long curtain in the living room so I took it off and tied it round my baby. I opened the window and lowered her into the arms of a woman waiting below. We're so grateful to that woman for what she did, saving our baby.

"After that the fire service arrived and helped my wife and me down a ladder. We were waiting for what must have been 20 or 30 minutes and we opened all the windows to let the smoke out. Julia was crying down below but she soon calmed down.

"We’re all doing fine now, but we’re still going through everything that happened last night.

"I spoke to a police officer who said the block’s been really badly damaged. There’s no gas and electricity in the flats and the officer said it could be a month before we get the gas back.”

A large police cordon surrounded the scene this morning, with a police car and a crime scene investigation van stationed outside the block of flats.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said a crew from Lowedges were the first to arrive and they had immediately pitched a ladder to the window to rescue those trapped inside their homes.

“From that point a collective effort between our fantastic control operators, fire crews and partner agencies led to the successful rescue,” the fire service added in a statement.

One neighbour, who did not give his name, described how the people living in the water-logged flat below where the fire had broken out were ‘devastated’ by the extent of the damage to their home.

Another man who lives across the road and also asked to remain anonymous told how he had heard people arguing shortly before the fire broke out.