An heroic mum ran into a roaring house fire in a brave attempt to rescue her best friend.
Sarah Smith, 47, was woken up by the sound of a fire alarm ringing in her neighbour Lynn Gardiner's property on Quernmore Road, Kirkby, at around 6am on Thursday, January 26. When her husband Keith knocked on the front door and received no response, she ran around to the back of the house and entered through a back door in a valiant effort to save the 56-year-old mum of three.
She said: "I could see the flames through the little window in the hall. The front door was shut, so I ran around the back and started running up the stairs - but a window blew in front of me. I had melted glass all over my T-shirt. It was like fireworks, like those bangers that kids get, popping and exploding everywhere."
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Unable to reach her friend's bedroom, she retreated downstairs, where she found Lynne's beloved Shetland sheepdogs, Dottie and Oscar.
She said: "The dogs were just wandering around, so I picked both of them up and ran into my house with them. Then the fire brigade came, and they wouldn't let me back in.
Lynne was taken to hospital with severe burns, and sadly died of her injuries a short time later. A male friend, who was also inside the house, suffered severe smoke inhalation but has since made a full recovery.
Lynne's son Paul Weaver, 39, said: "Sarah was my mum's best friend; she's been there for the past few years, just being there for her as friends do.
"Sarah basically put her own life at risk, and ran into a burning building to try and save my mum. The fire had started in the early hours, caused by an electrical fault under the stairs in my mum's property. It continued under the stairs, slowly burning and growing, until the fire was so intense it just went berserk. The fire alarms were ringing, which made Sarah and her husband quite concerned.
"Sarah then ran round to the back of the house where the back door was unlocked. She managed to get in and was trying to get up the stairs.
"Halfway up the stairs there was a large window, and because of how intense the fire was, the window burst and shattered, which fed even more oxygen to the fire, which made the fire go crazy. Sarah had to stop going upstairs and go down, and during that time she was looking for my mum's two dogs. She managed to get each one in her arms and took them to her house."
Following the tragedy, Sarah, a mum of two, looked after Dottie and Oscar while Lynne's children came to terms with their mum's death.
Paul said: "After our world came crashing down around us and we didn't know where to turn, she kept the dogs, fed them, looked after them, walked them, until we could get ourselves in a better state of mind."
He now hopes to repay Sarah's bravery and kindness by raising money in aid of Sarah's own dog, six-year-old Lola, who needs surgery on both her back legs after tearing her knee ligaments while playing fetch.
An online fund-raiser aims to raise £2,000, which will fund half of the operations she requires.
He said: "Not everybody is willing to run into a burning building, but in Sarah's case she didn't think twice about it. She put her own life at risk, and now she needs some help.
"To me, it would mean the world, after everything she has done for not only us, but the community itself. She's a member of the board at the community centre, works with Northwood Together, she does regular work with football training, she organises coach trips. I just want to give something back to her, the way she's given to others. She's got a true heart of gold."
Sarah and Lynne, who were friends for nine years, were both long-term members of Northwood Together, a community project dedicated to improving the local area.
Sarah said: "Lynne was quirky, funny, extremely helpful. She'd do anything for anyone. She did big things for the Northwood Together group. I'm an only child, so I used to call her my sister from another mister. (Her death) devastated me. She was my best friend and I miss her every day."
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