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Martin Lavin, his son Adam Lavin, 14, and Valerie Repole at their temporary home in Lambfold House |
Family saved from blaze by son’s daring rescue
12-year-old rushes up stairs and kicks in door to inferno flat, freeing his dad and brother
A 12-year-old boy and a teenage friend rushed up six flights of stairs and kicked down the door of his flat, engulfed in flames, and rescued his father and brother.
Reece Lavin was playing football with Giovanni Falzone, 19, in the playground near his Holloway home on Thursday night when he spotted his brother Adam, 14, leaning out of the sixth-floor window shouting for help.
When he knocked down the door he was met by thick black smoke.
The fire was raging through their flat in the seven-storey Kinefold House on the York Way estate.
Reece, who attends Islington Green school, told the Tribune: “I was willing to risk my life for my family.
“The main thing now is that I have the only things I value – my mum, my dad and Adam.”
Referring to the recent Ben Kinsella murder – which took place metres from the estate – Reece’s mother Valerie Repole said: “After all the bad press youngsters get it shows there are some good ones out there.”
Ms Repole and her partner Martin Lavin thought Adam, who was playing computer games in his room at the time, was at a friend’s house.
Sixty firefighters fought to contain the billowing flames, which may have been started by a discarded cigarette.
The fire completely destroyed the couple’s flat and severely damaged neighbouring homes. Four families have been offered temporary accommodation.
The family – who lost all their possessions in the fire including cherished old photos of their relatives – have been re-housed in nearby Lambfold House and provided with furniture, dinner sets and kitchen appliances.
Mr Lavin said he is overwhelmed by the support shown by neighbours, caretakers, the local school and their landlords, City of London Corporation.
He added: “Everybody mucked in and it just shows the spirit of the community. When you need it people are actually there for you.”
Adam said: “I opened my window. Everyone was telling me to get out and then Reece and the boys started running towards the block.”
Mr Falzone said: “We ran up to the sixth floor. I kicked the door a good five times. Eventually the door came off and the smoke hit us in the face.
“We realised we couldn’t handle the smoke and there was nothing more we could do apart from knock on the neighbouring flats.”
Within a few minutes Mr Lavin emerged. His son followed soon after.
Reece, who is currently staying with his aunt in Kent, added: “Even if they do the flat up, all those memories will be gone, but I think the family will be a lot closer now.
“We can make our memories again and hopefully they’ll be better memories than our old ones.”
A committee meeting was held last night (Thursday) to discuss the possibility of having an integrated fire alarm system throughout the blocks.
A spokeswoman for the City of London Corporation said: “We will of course seek to implement any recommendation that may be made.”
But she added: “There has been no recommendation from the Fire Brigade to install a fire alarm system.
“Within the last 12 months the Fire Brigade have offered free smoke alarms to all of our York Way residents and carried out a fire risk assessment.”
Having lost her passport and documents to the fire Ms Repole, who had been anticipating a family holiday in Spain, now advises people to keep their valuable documents in a fireproof box. |
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