A gallant Dundee man helped save the life of a woman who was “engulfed in flames” in an Edinburgh coffee shop.
Drew Cochrane used his jacket to douse the fire that had overwhelmed the woman, who he described as being like a “human fireball”.
The 25-year-old, who grew up in Dundee, was having coffee with a friend when the fire alarm sounded at Costa Coffee on South Bridge.
“Nobody was really moving as everybody thinks it’s a drill these days,” the tattoo studio manager explained.
“Then we heard chairs scraping back behind us and we heard a kid screaming, and a woman just came out of the toilet with her trousers on fire.”
Drew, who went to Hillside Primary and Carnoustie High School, said it was “surreal” as the flames swept up her trousers and engulfed her hands.
With the help of an older man, Drew leapt to the woman’s aid, using his jacket to help put out the flames on her upper body.
He also called an ambulance and helped treat the woman while the emergency services rushed to the scene.
He said: “A woman just came running out of the toilets pretty much engulfed in flames.
“Her trousers were on fire and while she was trying to take them off her hands and her hair went up too. It was pretty gruesome.
“I have never seen anything like it in my life. She was like a human fireball.
“An older gentleman managed to stop her from running about the shop. Everyone else was panicking and leaving.
“Me and this gentleman managed to get her on the floor. I threw my jacket over her and he got his jacket over her legs to help put out the flames, which was the part that was most on fire.
“Her trousers had completely burned off. I went and called an ambulance from my mobile, while another guy in his mid-twenties got a fire extinguisher to help the older man.
“She kept trying to get up from the ground and was in shock and not making sense. The ambulance lady kept talking to me and told me what to do.
“She said to keep the burns cool with cold water so I went and spoke with the Costa staff to sort that and also got the first aid kit out.
“The whole thing was over in ten minutes or so.”
Despite his selfless actions, Drew says he is not a hero.
“I don’t claim to be a hero at all. There was the older guy and the young guy with the fire extinguisher.
“I just hope the woman is OK. Her hands were fairly horrifically burned.
“It wasn’t a pleasant experience. I wasn’t looking for glory, I just did what seemed like the right thing. It was just impulse in that situation.”
Police are now investigating the incident, which occurred on Tuesday afternoon.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Police and emergency services attended a caf in South Bridge, Edinburgh following reports that a woman sustained serious burns.
“An inquiry is underway.”
A spokesman for Costa coffee shop said: “We can confirm this incident and we will continue to work with Lothian and Borders Police with their ongoing investigations.
“Our thoughts are with her and her family at this time.”