Heroic teenage girl, 16, saves man's life in house fire after kicking down door

06 June 2023 , 18:08

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Jerry Supple kicked down a door to pull a man to safety from a burning house in Greenwich, London (Image: UkNewsinPictures)

A teenager headbutted and kicked down a door to save the life of her neighbour as his home was engulfed in flames.

Jerry Supple risked her own life bursting into the house in Greenwich, London, which was ablaze with the man still inside.

The heroic 16-year-old sprang into action after seeing the plumes of smoke arising from the building on Monday afternoon, running inside and pulling the man out - almost certainly saving his life.

Around 70 firefighters and 10 fire engines were called to the blaze on Monday, which it's understood was sparked by a lithium battery inside the house.

The area around the terraced home remained sealed off on Tuesday (UkNewsinPictures)

Jerry had been in the garden of a relative's home when she noticed the smoke and called 999 before rushing to the occupant's aid, thankfully injuring only her foot from the force used to kick his door open.

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The brave teen told MyLondon both she and her mum ran to the man's help, with mum Jesse scaling the neighbour's garden fence also trying to warn whoever may be at home.

"We smelled it and automatically knew what that was, so I phone [the fire brigade]," Jerry said.

"I was on the phone [to the fire brigade] at the time. I was banging on the door, I kicked the door, I headbutted it. I was trying to do everything because I could see smoke."

After bursting through the front door, Jerry said she found a man and then "grabbed him and pulled him out".

Some 70 firefighters were called to the scene (UkNewsinPictures)

Jesse, 35, added: "My daughter has run through and tried to kick the front door in to tell the man it was on fire.

"I was in the garden trying to get in through the back. She got him out."

Photos from the scene show how firefighters hosed down the burning building, while residents around Greenwich shared photos of the grey smoke billowing into the sky.

Damage caused to the house (UkNewsinPictures)

The area remained sealed off on Tuesday while investigators try to work out what started the fire.

So far, the fire service has not commented on anyone who may have been in the building.

The London Fire Brigade confirmed it was called to the blaze at around 12:20pm with fire crews from East Greenwich, Lewisham, Lee Green, Poplar and Plumstead stations in attendance.

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An investigation has been launched by specialist investigators from the LFB after it is thought and understood that the blaze may have been caused by a faulty lithium battery that was being charged within the property at the time.

An LFB spokesperson added: "The cause of the fire is not known at this time."

Callum Cuddeford