Russian engineer saves 11 lives in London apartment fire

Russian computer engineer stormed into Grenfell Tower minutes after the fire broke out, pulling people living on lower floors out.

Smirnov stands in front of the burning Grenfell Tower in London (right). Photo: Standard.

Sergej Smirnov, 32, born in Latvia, is a Russian citizen, living in a building next to the 24-storey Grenfell apartment building. When the fire broke out, he smelled something burning and rushed to the building to help people living on the lower floors, according to the Standard.

Smirnov ran up the fire escape on the third floor, helped a woman in her 60s down, and pushed through the billowing smoke. He then ran up to the fourth floor, where the fire started, to save others who were suffocating from the smoke and escaped to the ground floor.

Smirnov learned CPR while preparing for military service in Russia. He used CPR to save a woman who had just been rescued from the building, before taking her to the emergency room.

"I didn't know anyone in the burning building, but I couldn't bear the thought of someone in pain and I missed the chance to help. I just rushed inside without thinking about the danger until I reached the fourth floor. I couldn't go any higher, it was extremely difficult to breathe. I almost fainted," Smirnov recalled.

"When I got out, I saw the building engulfed in flames. It was terrible. I'm not a hero, I was just trying to help. The firefighters are the real heroes. They did their best, there's nothing to criticize."

Smirnov, who has lived in London for seven years, was "horrified" when he saw a man fall from a 20-metre-high window. "I will always remember these terrible memories," he said.

Smirnov's brave act was praised by the Latvian community, the company where he worked and the Russian embassy.

"We were touched by Sergej's courage and selflessness. He had no family or friends living in the apartment building and risked his life to help strangers. This is a remarkable act!" Gita Petkevica, director of Opal Transfer, praised Smirnov on behalf of the Latvian community in the UK.

The Grenfell Tower fire on June 14 was determined to have started from an exploding refrigerator. The fire is believed to have spread rapidly through the building’s plastic-coated aluminum cladding, leaving residents unable to react, killing at least 58 people and injuring dozens.

According to VNE