A HERO who rescued a man from a burning house in Mid Wales has been commended for his bravery by a crown court judge.
Electrician Thomas John Savage was working on a nearby property when he saw smoke billowing from a bungalow, the home of Nigel John Edwards, in Newtown.
Mr Savage saw Edwards screaming at the front window which was locked.
Mold Crown Court heard how Mr Savage broke the window and managed to get Edwards out to safety.
Mr Savage received a £250 reward for his bravery and a public commendation from the judge, but Edwards was jailed for two years and eight months after the court heard Edwards had started the fire in a suicide bid.
He had tried to hang himself, but when that failed he started the fire.
Edwards, 49, pleaded guilty to arson and being reckless as to whether life would be endangered following the fire which caused £21,000 worth of damage to a council-owned bungalow at Orchard Walk in Newtown on July 22.
Myles Wilson, prosecuting, said Mr Savage was working at a neighbouring house when he saw the smoke and then saw the defendant inside, standing by front window, screaming.
Mr Savage tried to open the window but it was locked, so he forced the window open and managed to help Edwards out of the burning property.
Once out of the house, Edwards admitted starting the fire in a kitchen bin and said he put newspapers and a wooden chair on it to build it up.
He said it was a suicide attempt and was analysed in hospital for six weeks where it was found that he was depressed but that his problems stemmed from alcohol abuse and poor coping strategies.
Interviewed, he said that he was missing his partner who had taken an overdose and that he had tried to kill himself that day. He had not thought about the danger to others.
Paulinus Barnes, defending, said that his client had a history of depression and fairly regular attempts at taking his own life.
“This day it was the anniversary of the death of his partner of three years.
“She took her own life the year before and he was struggling to cope.”
Judge Niclas Parry said that it was an extremely serious offence.
“This was a determined and successful effort to cause a serious fire,” the judge told him.
“You caused an obvious risk to the lives of the occupants of the terrace of properties of which yours was one.
“You also caused a serious risk to the lives of the public servants called to deal with this fire.”