Hero Ian saves neighbour after house explosion

Aug 28 2009 by Lisa Boyle, Ayrshire Post (main ed)

A TRAUMATISED man rolled his burning neighbour in the grass in a desperate bid to save his life.

Ian Clarke frantically tried to put out the flames engulfing Tommy Hamilton, 49, after the Barassie home exploded.

Police, fire services, the Health and Safety Executive and Transco are all investigating the cause of the explosion, while Tommy fights for his life.

The flat at 57b Walker Avenue exploded at around 11.45am on Monday morning.

Ian, who was decorating his girlfriend’s flat next door, rushed outside when he heard the bang.

He said: “You would have thought a plane had crashed, it was that loud.

“When I heard it I ran outside and Tommy came running out shouting my name.

“His skin was dripping off him, it was like something out of a horror film. He was just a fireball.

“Tommy had thick shoulder length hair but it was all burned off, he had no hair left on his body. His clothes had all been burned to rags.

“Me and another neighbour took him round the back and started rolling him in the grass.

“That’s when the windows were blown out and there was another loud bang. Glass and stuff from the house went everywhere. My car was on the other side of the street and the windscreen’s been smashed.”

Ian, 44, continued: “At that point, Joe, whose house it is, came back. He had been out but he kept trying to get into the house so I had to pin him down by his ankles.”

Ian has been left traumatised by his experience.

He said: “Every time I close my eyes I get the visual image of Tommy burning.

“And it doesn’t matter how many showers I have, I can’t get the smell of burning flesh out of my nose. It’s like it’s trapped in my nostrils.

“At the time I just went into automatic pilot, it was only afterwards that I really started thinking about it. I’m pretty shaken up.”

Tommy is in a critical condition at Glasgow’s Royal Infirmary hospital.

His friend Joe McDougall, 48, the householder, was checked out at hospital but was released on Monday afternoon.

The occupant directly above Joe’s flat was not at home at the time of the explosion.

The 30-year-old male who was in the flat above Ian was also checked out at hospital and released the same day.

Children playing in the playground of nearby Barassie primary school were rushed inside the school immediately after the explosion.

Residents in the block have all been temporarily re-homed while the investigation continues.