One of the men involved in a fire in Angus “burst into tears” on meeting the policeman who saved his life.
Chris Fotheringham said he thought he came centimetres from being burned alive after a cooking-related fire in Forfar that singed his hair.
Clutching a number of thank you cards for the emergency services who saved him and friend Lee Simpson on Sunday, Mr Fotheringham, 23, said the first thing he knew about the blaze was when he was carried into an ambulance in Dundee Road.
“I actually became conscious again in the ambulance and my mate was being led out of the ambulance,” he said. “I had to be carried out so I was probably the worst off.”
He continued: “I spoke to the police officer today and we were both greeting.
“He and my mate are both back at work today, too. All I know is his name and his badge number but I can see why he didn’t want any recognition.”
Mr Fotheringham said he and his friend had already been to thank the couple who live above Mr Simpson, and who had called police.
“There’s a lot of questions that are unanswered,” he said. “I’m still not sure how it happened.
“We don’t understand why there was a burger there we were making bacon as far as we knew.
“We don’t know how I’ve ended up passing out and he’s gone to his bed. My hair got singed as well, so I must have been literally centimetres away from being burned alive.”
Two officers were first on the scene at the ground-floor flat in Dundee Loan after neighbours raised the alarm. Both police officers are based in Forfar and one has four years’ service while the other is a probationer.
Angus duty officer Inspector Suzanne Smith hailed the actions of her colleagues.
She said: “They have been brave and courageous and done what the public has expected them to do. They don’t want to talk publicly about what happened because they see it as just doing their jobs.”
The officers arrived on the scene before firefighters and heard coughing coming from inside the Forfar property.
They forced entry and helped pull the occupant out of the property before firefighters arrived to help the other man to safety. One of the officers was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and taken to Whitehills Hospital as a precaution.
He was released from hospital and was back on the beat later that day.
Inspector Smith added: “The officers should be praised for their bravery and quick decision making.”