This is the horrific moment a building contractor almost burst into flames before a humble crane operator rescued him from the roof of a burning £750 million housing project in Reading today.
The man, who has not been named, was near death before Glen Edwards managed to pull off a Hollywood-style rescue, moving a cage through smoke and flames to save his unnamed colleague.
Before Mr Edwards, 65, had a chance to demonstrate his skills as an operator, footage showed the other contractor stranded alone on the roof of the One Station Hill office building near Reading train station as his feet burst into flames. The worker uses his coat to lure his lifesaver while he is overwhelmed by thick clouds of toxic smoke.
Under intense pressure, Glen, from Egham, Surrey, then skillfully managed to put a hut on top of the One Station Hill office complex near Reading train station as the building burst into flames. There were huge cheers from the ground as the man jumped into the cage and was winched to safety in scenes
Mr Edwards played down his exploits but admitted: “It wasn’t an average day at work.”
Glen Edwards – the man who operated the crane during the rescue operation saw a man being rescued from a burning tower in Reading today
The contractor is stranded alone on the roof of the One Station Hill office building near Reading train station as his feet go up in flames
Station Road and Blagrave Street are now closed as police launch a drone to investigate a fire that appears to have spread over the top of a tower construction site in the Station Hill development
The heroic crane operator said today: “It was no ordinary day at work.” I saw someone waving his coat. I knew the person was at that level. But the wind blew around the cage. I was just waiting for the smoke to clear. I could see that I was putting it in the flames. The bank teller (supervisor) told me when he was there.
“I was no more than 20 meters in the air, looked out the left window and saw a man standing on the corner of the building. “I had just seen it and someone said, ‘Can you put the cage on?’ So that was it, I put the cage on and got it to him as best I could. “It was pretty windy.”
Sir Robert McAlpine’s construction worker managed to pull the man to safety at top speed as the fire raged on, carrying his load through the thick black smoke spreading across the city in what he described as a “close call”.
Mr Edwards continued: “I would say it was a very close call when you look at the video and see how the wind was swirling around there.” “I tried to put the cage between him and the flames but the wind, who was whirling there prevented me from doing so. “But I took the cage down and managed to get him in there.”
The dramatic three-minute rescue undoubtedly saved the contractor’s life, as burning facades all around him created huge clouds of toxic smoke.
Amazingly, despite the severity of the fire, only two people were hospitalized with smoke inhalation, including the worker rescued by Glen. The 16-storey office building is opposite Reading and Crossrail stations and is part of a complex where another fire occurred just five months ago. The fire is contained, but the cause is not yet known.
Eyewitnesses to the devastating fire have described the scenes as “like 9/11” – as construction workers in high-visibility gear rushed to a nearby pub to fetch water for those Mr Edwards had miraculously saved.
A manager at the Greyfriar pub, which overlooks the staff entrance to the site, described the drama as a construction worker rushed in and asked for a bottle of water to help one of the men who had been rescued from the roof.
Remarkable footage shows a man trapped at the top of the £750 million One Station Hill project in Reading as the building burns
The worker has to decide his fate in seconds and initially hesitates as the inferno surrounds him before climbing into the cabin, which has been lifted into place by a colleague
People have been told to avoid the area and residents have been urged to close their windows and doors as smoke can now be seen coming from villages several miles away
“It was maybe 11.45am when I saw the smoke,” she told Web. “It was quite thick and went across the train station and I went out to have a look – at first it was quite hard to tell which building was burning because it came through between two of them.”
“I made my way back to the pub and they started evacuating people – more and more people, and the whole area here went into lockdown.” Then quite a few construction workers came in to get a drink and use the toilet to go – one guy came in around 10, quarter past 12 and said, “Can I get a bottle of water?”
“He was with the man who was rescued by crane and who was having a mild panic attack. I gave him a bottle of water and he went to pay for it – I said, “No, absolutely not.”
“It looked like the fire department solved the problem pretty quickly – by 10 past 12 most of the smoke was gone, but everyone had to stay out here for quite a long time.” “That crane operator is a hero.”
Site staff declined to speak to Web at the entrance to the Station Hill project in Reading town center on Wednesday. However, sources suggest that isolation could be to blame.
This followed a fire in the Station Hill development in July – just four months ago. Locals are concerned about safety at the site, where houses are already listed for sale.
The bar manager added: “Then there’s the other fire that happened in July.” The smoke was the same – very, very thick black smoke coming from almost the same place.
“For someone who runs a business so close to the site, it is a bit worrying that there were two fires within a few months.” Hundreds of people have to work there. One of the contractors said to me that you don’t know how many people work there.
“Thank God they were able to save everyone this time, but if things like this keep happening… you’re afraid to think about it.”
A South Central Ambulance Service spokesman said two people were taken to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation
The dramatic three-minute rescue undoubtedly saved the contractor’s life, as burning facades all around him created huge clouds of toxic smoke
Eyewitness Charlene Flygring, 36, from Caversham, had been thinking about moving to the estate with her young three-year-old son – but said today’s fire had completely put her off.
The website for the so-called Ebb and Flow project offers rental apartments from £1,320 per month for a studio apartment.
Hotel manager Ms. Flygring said the scene of thick black smoke billowing from the all-glass building reminded her of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
She told Web: “My son goes to kindergarten just up the road.” I got a video from someone working at the train station as I was on the way here and it just looked like 9/11: bright blue sky, clear day, a large glass building, the smoke rising from above.
“When I got here it was just police everywhere, armed police, regular police, community police.” You could see people in orange and yellow jackets, maybe 100, 150 workers.
“This happened in July and they had to close the road – literally a few months ago and it was such a big deal. “I looked at a property there and went to view it. People currently live in the properties. You promote them on social media.
‘But I have a child. “The fire in July may have been a one-in-a-million situation – but this, this is scary.”
She added, “This fire started in the blink of an eye,” snapping her fingers to make her point. “Am I thinking about moving in there now? No way. Everyone seems very tight-lipped about what happened. They say it’s a regeneration of the area – but do it safely.”
Locals on the main street behind the Station Hill development went about their business as normal on Thursday evening, with the high-rise – which still has power – looming over them.
Some stopped to take photos of the scorched, shattered glass destroyed by the flames. The barriers around the entrances to the site remain in place.
A local shop owner described the “burning flames” that erupted at the Station Hill site, which he said consumed the building for about half an hour. “It covered the horizon,” he added. “There needs to be an investigation.”
The high-rise’s windows appear to have melted as warped glass and burnt windows were visible on the side of the building
A carpenter working nearby said onlookers below applauded as the man climbed into a metal basket attached to the crane and was carried away by the flames
The flames and smoke spread across the entire roof of the £750 million One Station Hill office complex near Reading train station
A carpenter working nearby said onlookers below applauded as the rescued man climbed into a metal basket attached to the crane and was carried away by the flames.
The witness, who did not want to be named, said: “I was in the next building, there was a man standing up there (on the roof of the building), luckily the crane came just in time.”
“He coughed [when he came down], from the smoke, you know what I mean. When he got into the crane and the crane set him down, everyone clapped. The crane driver was very fast. “He was still in the crane when the building burned.”
A worker at the settlement added: “There were flames everywhere.” Luckily the wind was blowing in the opposite direction, so the rescued construction worker was not badly affected by inhaling the smoke.
“When he was lowered to the ground there was a huge round of applause from all the boys standing in the street.”
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue were called to the fire on Station Hill at 11.38am this morning. More than 50 firefighters were on site at the high-rise building under construction, along with a turntable ladder platform and an operations control unit.
Firefighters equipped with breathing apparatus extinguished the fire using two main jets.
According to the fire department, two people were rescued from the crane and taken to the care of South Central Ambulance Service.
Christopher Hutton, from the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Just after half past 11 today we received reports of a fire on Station Hill in Reading.”
Station Road and Blagrave Street are now closed as police launch a drone to investigate a fire that appears to have spread over the top of a tower construction site in the Station Hill development.
The 16-story office building is part of a building complex in which another fire broke out just five months ago
Peter, who runs a local cafe, said the fire was “really quite dramatic – thick clouds of smoke and lots of flames”.
“At its peak, there were over 50 firefighters on scene from fire stations across the county. Emergency services found the fire in a high-rise building under construction. Firefighters equipped with breathing apparatus extinguished the fire using two main jets.
“We know that two people were rescued by a crane and were placed in the care of South Central Ambulance Service. Fortunately, all other people were able to be taken into account.”
“The fire has now been extinguished and we have reduced our response to the incident, but a number of emergency responders will remain on site at this time to contain the fire.”
An emergency services spokesman said the two people were being treated for smoke inhalation.
The spokesman said: “I can confirm that we have taken two people to the Royal Berkshire Hospital for further assessment and treatment for smoke inhalation, none of which were serious cases.”
“We are now on standby and supporting the fire department (which is standard procedure for high-altitude and large-scale operations).
“We have our hazardous area response team, an ambulance, the Thames Valley Air Ambulance intensive care vehicle, an incident commander, a tactical advisor and a tactical commander on site.”
A Thames Valley police officer said he was the first to report the fire as he watched the man being rescued by crane.
The police officer said: “I was the first to call 911 and saw a man being rescued.” He is now in an ambulance in the hospital, he threw himself into the cage, I ran into the building and shouted : “Is there anyone in there?” I don’t think there were many people, just a few people working on the roof.”
The cause of the fire is unclear, but a local contractor believes asphalt on the roof caught fire.
Thames Valley Police have closed Friar Street but Great Western Railway says the fire has not yet affected train services
The black smoke could be seen from several kilometers away in the surrounding villages
He said: “I was the first to call 911 and saw a man being rescued.” He is now in an ambulance in the hospital, he threw himself into the cage, I ran into the building and shouted: “It is “Is there anyone in there?” I don’t think there were many people, just a few people working on the roof.”
People were told to avoid the area during the day. People who lived and worked near the building were told to close their windows and doors as smoke could be seen coming from villages several miles away.
The high-rise’s windows appear to have melted, as warped glass and burnt windows were visible on the side of the building and parts of the roof appeared to be bowed.
Steve Reynolds, who works in a building 100 meters opposite the scene of the fire, told the BBC: “I saw a black cloud rise and a ball of flames appeared and suddenly I could see a man trapped on the corner.”
“Shards of glass were falling from the side of the building and he was completely exposed up there.”
“Then suddenly a crane came from the left with a carriage on it and they lowered him down… and he got in and they pulled him away.”
“All the workers on site cheered loudly. It was pretty frightening.’
Peter, who runs a local cafe, said the fire was “really quite dramatic – thick clouds of smoke and lots of flames”.
“We got rid of all our customers straight away – we couldn’t imagine anything more,” he said.
Aaron, who was a bystander, said: “It’s just the most devastating thing I’ve seen in my life.”
Luke Edgecombe, who works in a building 500 meters from the scene of the fire, told Web of the “mass hysteria” on the streets as the flames became visible.
The 29-year-old said: “There were big crowds.” There was quite a bit of hysteria. I guess people were interested. It’s not often that a large building catches fire.
“There were a lot of people pulling out their phones and there were probably a lot of rumors going around about how it started.” “This is something completely abnormal and shouldn’t be happening.”
Office workers at Thames Tower, which is close to the burning site, saw the flames first hand and were told to evacuate at around 11.40am
The Station Hill complex was expected to provide up to 1,300 apartments
Redwood Consulting, speaking on behalf of the Station Hill developers, said it immediately activated its fire emergency plans
The cause of the fire is unclear, but a local contractor believes it was a pitchman on the roof who caught the fire.
The One Station Hill Complex was a landmark building scheduled to open next year and included 15 floors of workspaces and a fitness club
This is not the first time the listed building has caught fire, as it was the center of a fire in July last year
More than 50 firefighters at the scene of the accident in the high-rise building under construction, next to a turntable ladder platform and an operations control unit
Firefighters equipped with breathing apparatus fight the fire with two main jets
A Thames Valley police officer said he was the first to report the fire as he watched the man being rescued
Station Road and Blagrave Street were closed as police launched a drone to investigate how the fire started.
Office workers at Thames Tower, who were very close to the burning site, saw the flames first hand and were told to evacuate at around 11.40am.
Thames Valley Police have closed Friar Street but Great Western Railway says the fire has not yet affected train services.
Due to an incident, routes 143 and X40 are unable to serve Friar Street, Station Road and Forbury Road, according to Thames Travel.
The One Station Hill Complex was a landmark building scheduled to open next year and included 15 floors of workspaces and a fitness club.
This is not the first time the listed building has caught fire, as it was the center of a fire in July this year.
Large clouds of smoke were also seen rising into the air that day. Everyone on site was accounted for and it was believed no one was injured
Redwood Consulting, speaking on behalf of Station Hill, said: “We immediately activated our fire safety plans, emergency services were notified and are currently on site.”
“The safety of local people and the general public is always our top priority, which is why the site has been evacuated. “We will provide an update as soon as we have further information.”