Three brave men in Boxing Night fire rescue

Abe and Glen Vennard along with Conor Hanna (Abe’s partner’s son) swung into action with no thought for their own safety after a neighbour’s house was engulfed in fire.

The drama began shortly after they returned from a night out on Boxing Day, they had been enjoying a few drinks in the house when Glen and Conor went out the back and heard a young girl shouting for help nearby.

The men went to investigate and discovered a neighbouring property on fire with the girl’s mother trapped inside.

As Conor (26) went to raise the alarm Abe (47) and his brother Glen (46) tried to gain access to the house - Glen taking a direct route to the house down a 20 foot drop, earning him a new nickname ‘Commando Glen’.

They broke a kitchen window and Abe scrambled through but was quickly overcome by thick, acrid smoke. Glen pulled him to safety and undeterred the two men went into the inferno again, holding onto each other, quite literally for dear life.

As Glen explained: “We went in holding onto each other in case one or other of us went down, you could just be overcome so quick.”

Not giving up, they managed to get the back door open and found the stricken woman lying in the back hall. Abe explained: “Conor came in with us at that stage and helped us carry her out.”

Abe, whose lungs are recovering after a bout of Covid, said: “We wouldn’t leave till we got her out.”

He said they managed to get her clear of the house after quite an effort and added: “I was trying to comfort the woman and then I saw Glen go down and then Conor dropped.”

By this stage the emergency services had arrived and looked after all four of those involved.

Abe said: “Without us acting so quickly she would have been a goner.”

Glen said: “I’d like to think if it was my mum someone would do something to help.”

For their efforts Abe received several gashes to his legs and other cuts and bruises, Glen also received cuts and bruises with severe gashes to his hand and sore ankles from his high jump.