Man dies after catching on fire at Tesco petrol station before hero rushed to save him
A man has died after catching fire at a Tesco petrol station before a brave hero rushed to save him.
He is believed to have suffered burns to 90 percent of his body in Monday night’s horror incident.
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At 7.35pm yesterday, rescue workers rushed to the Tesco petrol station in Blackley, Manchester.
A “burned out suitcase” and a burned shoe were found at the scene, along with two fire extinguishers and a large empty bottle.
The man is believed to have set himself on fire and was taken to hospital with life-threatening burns after being treated by firefighters at the scene.
It has since been reported that the man has since died from his injuries.
An eyewitness described how local residents used buckets of water and a fire extinguisher to rescue him.
An eyewitness told MEN that members of the public put out the fire before firefighters arrived.
The woman, who declined to be named, said: “I was in the garden with my partner and we heard a commotion. This is not unusual for this area.”
“Then I heard a beeping sound like someone was banging and banging and banging on their car’s horn. And there was shouting, shouting of men.”
“We stood on the bench in the garden to take a close look and my partner called the fire brigade.
“Within minutes, people and local residents swarmed around trying to put the man out with a fire extinguisher and buckets of water.
“It took a while for firefighters to arrive and by the time they got there the fire had already been extinguished by the community.”
The woman said she initially thought it was a car fire and only later realized a man had set himself on fire.
She added: “It was a shock. I’m 24 and when I was 18 I didn’t get the mental health care I needed.”
“I deeply understand where he’s coming from when it comes to a mental health issue.”
Another resident said: “I didn’t check. The poor man was so desperate that I didn’t want to be one of those people who went out and checked.”
Another eyewitness told MEN: “My fiancé and I went to Tesco’s to shop and next thing about ten people ran in screaming and screaming.”
“Then people started running and panicking, almost like a bomb went off. I think it was because we all thought the gas station had exploded.”
“My partner and I were out of Tesco at the time so we ran to the petrol station to see if there was anything we could do to help but it was too late. He had already set himself on fire.”
She said a man who was with his child managed to put out the fire.
The woman continued: “Some people even had the audacity to record the poor man burned on the floor with their phones and for once they weren’t really teenagers. The teenagers who were there were actually concerned.”
The woman said it took “what felt like forever” for emergency services to arrive and that some of them used large Tesco bottles to shower the man.
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: “Around 7.35pm officers were called to report concern for the well being of a man on Victoria Avenue East in Manchester.
“A man was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, where he remains in a life-threatening condition.”
A spokesman for the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said: “Just after 7.30pm on 4 September 2023, three fire engines from Philips Park, Manchester Central and Whitefield fire stations were involved in an incident on Victoria Avenue East, Blackley.
“One injured person was treated at the scene by fire department emergency technicians for severe burns.
“You were taken to the hospital by the North West Ambulance Service. The crews were on duty for about two hours.”
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