Have-a-go hero rescues man from blazing boat
 |
| Modest hero: John Dunn who saved a man from an exploding boat. |
A HAVE-A-GO hero from Andover was involved in the dramatic rescue of a man whose boat exploded on the River Thames on Monday afternoon.
John Dunn, who lives at Medina Court, River Way, pulled 67-year-old businessman John Bond-Smith out of the river after his 28ft Seamaster powerboat caught fire.
The 20ft-high blaze - which is believed to have been caused by a gas-powered fridge - set off another explosion just seconds after Mr Dunn moved Mr Bond-Smith clear of the boat.
Mr Dunn, aged 49, and his wife were leaving the riverside caravan park in Bablock Hythe, Oxfordshire, just before the fire.
He said: "We were just going home and all of a sudden we saw this plume of smoke going up as we were setting off. I thought a caravan had gone up.
"We went over and I saw this boat on fire, I heard someone shouting help and then saw the chap hanging on the bank. It was really hot.
"It was steep but someone else came and helped us up. Just as we got him up some gas bottles exploded."
Mr Dunn, a mechanical fitter at J & J Conversions, treated Mr Bond-Smith's burns with towels and water until the fire service and ambulance arrived.
He added: "When we saw the flames and heard him calling for help I thought I'm going to have to go in'.
"I suppose I could have hurt myself but that didn't come into it.
"He was ever so grateful and I'd hope that if I'm in the same situation someone would do the same for me.
"There were other people helping and I don't want to take any credit."
Despite the efforts of four fire crews, the boat eventually sank.
Mr Bond-Smith was taken to hospital and treated for his burns and released later the same day.
Speaking after the fire, he said: "I am lucky and so grateful for those people who put cold water on my burns, and I owe the fact I am not seriously burnt to them."
11:23am Thursday 8th May 2008
Print 
Email this 
Comment
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
