Woman dragged out of burning home by heros

Giovanni Gianfriglia, 52, is being hailed for entering the woman's house, finding her at the bottom of the stairs, and dragging her out while her top kept catching fire.

The woman, known as Maria, was taken to St Peter's Hospital with serious injuries, including burns to her arms and legs, and her husband Michael was taken after suffering from smoke inhalation.

Fire engines from Staines, Sunbury, Egham, Chertsey, Camberley, Esher, and Guildford attended the scene, along with an aerial ladder, and worked until 7.50am putting the fire under control.

The cause is still under a joint investigation by Staines CID and the fire service.

Residents have spoken of their shock of seeing the fire, and have praised two men, Giovanni Gianfriglia, 52, and Mark Biggs, 39, for rescuing the woman, known as Maria, from her burning home.

Mr Biggs said: "I was woken up at about 3.45am because a next door neighbour named Michael was banging on the door shouting for us to help Maria. Adrenaline took over and I rushed out, but Giovanni had already dragged Maria from the bottom of the stairs to the door. She was lying on the doorstep and I could see the flames in her hallway, so we dragged her outside."

Nicholas Ross, 19, of Viola Avenue, was also awakened by the fire in the early morning. He said: "It was the first time I had seen a fire, and the flames were quite high. The smoke was black and it was quite scary because I thought it was going to spread to my house."

Rhys Jones, 19, of Windermere Close, said: "I came out and saw Giovanni and Mark pulling Maria out on to the driveway, and I didn't believe what was happening. You do not expect a fire at four in the morning. Every time the flames went out they started back up again. It only comes to life when you a see fire on first hand, because when you see it on the news, you think a fire can't last for four hours, but it really can."

Fire engines from Staines, Sunbury, Egham, Chertsey, Camberley, Esher, and Guildford attended the scene and worked until 7.50am to bring the fire under control.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or with any information should contact Surrey Police on 0845 125 2222, quoting reference P09335011, or call Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555 111.