MANAMA: A ‘Spiderman’ neighbour scaled across rooftops to help rescue a family from a burning house and has been hailed a superhero today after suffering from smoke inhalation, a broken nose and multiple bruises during the drama.
The blaze destroyed the ground floor of a house in Hamad Town’s Block 1208 – trapping six people upstairs.
“If it wasn’t for him my mother would have never made it out alive so there are no words to express what he has done for our family,” her daughter told the GDN.
Mohammed Salem, 33, an off-duty fireman who works for Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC), was washing his car outside his home, a couple of houses down from the property, when he heard a scream and spotted black smoke billowing into the sky last Thursday.
“I just ran to the house to see what I could do,” he told the GDN. “The family was trapped upstairs and they couldn’t escape through the windows as they had metal safety bars installed across them.”
Using his experience and training as a firefighter he quickly assessed the situation although he admits he had never before witnessed ‘flames spreading through a floor so rapidly’.
“I have taken many courses abroad for firefighting but I had never seen a fire that large and scary,” he added. “I realised that my only way in was through the roof.
“I jumped across the roofs of two homes to get to their terrace and saw the mother and her daughter pleading for help.
“I tried to break the metal bars on the window but couldn’t budge them.
“I jumped across two roofs once again to hit ground zero, grabbed my ladder and hammer and went up again.
“While lowering the ladder from the roof, it fell on my face. My nose was hurting, but I knew I had a bigger job at hand and every minute was precious.
“There were around 30 men outside who had tried to break into the house through the front door. They couldn’t as flames soon engulfed almost everything.
“The smoke was suffocating. I held my breath while breaking the metal bars.
“I was able to help the mother and one of her daughters out and asked them to sit on the side of the roof.
“I could hardly see anything as smoke had enveloped the property and neighbouring houses.
“One of the girls suffered from asthma and she was on the second floor now trying to throw herself from the window. She was hysterical but I managed to calm her down.
“Moments later the Civil Defence arrived and I heaved a huge sigh of relief. I knew everyone would be safe.”
The Civil Defence crews swiftly managed to get the fire under control.
The Interior Ministry stated that six people were rescued from the fire. They suffered from the effects of smoke inhalation and were taken by ambulance for treatment.
“I’m so grateful that God has allowed me to save this family and I was taken to the BDF Hospital in the ambulance along with one of the girls,” he added.
“I was told that I inhaled a lot of smoke, my nose was broken, and I had multiple bruises on my body, but this is nothing compared to the lives that could have been lost.
“I urge people to have fire extinguishers in their homes because they can save lives.”
A 44-year-old Bahraini woman, who was inside the house when the fire broke out, said Mr Al Salem risked his own life to save her family.
“Mohammed is a true superhero – he put himself in danger to rescue our family as he jumped from roof to roof to get to my mother and sister,” she told the GDN.
“He was injured and suffered a broken nose during his efforts but that didn’t stop him. He deserves to be honoured.
“Words of gratitude will never be enough because he helped save my entire family from disaster.
“Within seconds the flames engulfed the entire living room and my mother was trapped upstairs. I managed to run outside and yelled for help.
“I could only watch helplessly as my entire family was trapped inside, but they were thankfully rescued in time and we are all extremely grateful.”
She added that the entire situation could have ended in tragedy and added that ‘no words of gratitude will ever be enough to thank those who came to our rescue’.
She told the GDN that the entire community came together and she expressed her gratitude to the National Ambulance, the Civil Defence and the Community Police who were on the scene.
The fire is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault in a downstairs air-conditioning unit.
Area councillor Mohammed Al Dhaen, who also rushed to the scene, also praised Mr Salem for his brave actions.
“He put his own life at risk to save a family that was trapped in the burning home and he deserves to be honoured,” he told the GDN.
“His nose was broken and he was injured during the process but he didn’t stop until he was sure the family was safe.
“This is the true spirit of Bahrain as the entire community always rushes forward to help those in need.”
He also told the GDN that official reports were being compiled by the Northern Municipal Council to begin the home repairs and restoration process.
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