A POLICE officer heading home from Coventry station at 3am on Thursday after a late shift rescued a family who were just minutes away from being engulfed in flames.
PC Shaun King spotted smoke rising between houses in Wildcroft Road and found a car well ablaze with flames already spreading to garden fencing and taking hold of the side of nearby homes.
Lifesaver PC King called the fire brigade before evacuating the family, which included three children staying with grandparents during the Coronavirus lockdown.
The 37-year-old also raised the alarm with neighbours and moved everyone to safety.
One firefighter later estimated the blaze was less than three minutes from setting fire to house roofs, adding PC King’s actions probably saved lives.
Resident Steven Taylor said he was hugely grateful for PC King’s heroics, saying: “We’re heavy sleepers and had no idea there was a fire.
“We were all awoken by a loud banging on the door and I went downstairs to find out what was happening.
“I asked who it was and the man replied ‘off-duty police officer, you need to get out’.
“At first I thought ‘yeah, likely story’ but then smelt the smoke and realised it was a genuine emergency.”
The officer made sure everyone got out, evacuated other neighbours, and marshalled everyone to safety.
Steven added: “We were extremely lucky he was passing.
“He told us he should have finished work hours earlier but had to stay on and was also dropping off a colleague he wouldn’t normally be giving a lift to.
“It was pure chance he was in our street and he may well have saved someone’s life.”
PC King, a West Midlands Police officer in Coventry for the past 11 years, has now been nominated for a bravery award for his actions.
