Residents in Mablethorpe are full of praise after couple rescued from blazing home

The couple, named locally as John and Jean Munchin, were rescued from the blaze in Admiralty Road last 
Friday night.

According to residents, at least one neighbour rushed into the burning house in a desperate bid to rescue Mr Munchin and his wife - who has mobility issues - before the emergency services arrived.

Jayne Elliott, who has lived next door to the Munchins for the last 12 months, said: “On Friday evenings, our road is normally pretty loud when the pubs break out. But (last Friday) I could hear a lot of shouting. When I came outside, the fire crews had just arrived. John and Jean’s home looked to be surrounded by smoke and flames.

“A lot us gathered outside to do all we could to help. Apparently, someone had (already) gone in quickly to get John. Despite everyone’s best efforts, they were struggling to get Jean out as the living room where she was had filled 
with clouds of smoke.

“Jean is not mobile and wouldn’t have been able to get out of the house on her own so if it wasn’t for the fire crews going in and getting her out, it could have been a 
very different story.”

Ms Elliott described Mr and Mrs Munchin as a ‘lovely couple who are very loyal to each other’. She said that without the efforts of neighbours and fire crews, the outcome could have been much worse.

Ms Elliott added: “It was a real community effort that night and I can’t praise those that actually went into 
the house enough.”

Mrs Munchin was treated for smoke inhalation and burns. She was taken to the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham. No other details have been released about her condition. Two other people were treated for smoke inhalation.

Karen Fae Ratae, who also lives in Admiralty Road, also hailed the efforts of brave neighbours and the emergency services.

She said: “I have to hail the neighbour who rushed into the burning house. He is a hero. The men who were manning the four fire appliances that attended the scene were also superb.”

According to Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, reports of the blaze came in at 23.36pm. Fire crews from Mablethorpe, Alford, North Somercotes 
and Louth attended.

The Fire and Rescue Service says there was damage to a bin - and contents on the ground floor, as well as 
smoke damage.

They added that the cause of the fire was ‘carelessly discarded smoking materials.’