Two Londoners have been honoured by the city and the London Fire Department for heroic acts that saved three lives.
Yadvinder Saini and Avinash Verma were in their home early in the morning on February 1 when Verma noticed a home down the street on Hillcrest Avenue was on fire.
They pulled three people out of a basement window to safety as the house was burning. Damage from the fire is estimated at $750,000. The investigation is ongoing.
On Friday, Deputy Fire Chief Richard Hayes, Platoon Chief Gary Mosburger, London Professional Fire Fighters Association President Jason Timlick, and City of London Deputy Mayor Josh Morgan were on hand to present the duo with certificates for their bravery.
A certificate presented to Londoner Avinash Verma after he helped save three lives in a house fire on Hillcrest Avenue.
“Suddenly someone screamed that there are three girls trapped in the basement,” Verma said. “We saw the girls, there was a pretty small window, it was a basement window. Broke the window, two kicks. (Saini) got the two girls out. Then the fire department took over.”
Saini and Verma both moved to Canada from India in the last five years. They met while attending Fanshawe College and became roommates.
“They were in their socks standing out in the snow, some were just in t-shirts,” Saini said of the people that escaped the fire. “We went back home and got sweaters and slippers. Then we just went home.”
“When such things happen, your mind just stops working. You just do whatever comes to you,” said Verma when asked about his state of mind when running towards the house.
What the two did was relayed to London Fire officials, who wanted to honour the bravery of the two men.
“Since January there’s been 20 fire deaths in the province of Ontario. The actions of these two gentlemen that we’re here today to recognize prevented three more.” Hayes said at the ceremony. “The Fire Department would like to thank you for your heroic efforst.”
The two didn’t even understand the importance of what they did until the following day.
“We didn’t expect this, and didn’t have that in mind that it’s going to be this way,” Saini said. “We definitely didn’t think about all this (attention) when we were doing it.”
The two had never met the people they helped escape the burning house. However, Saini says he’s since found out he works with one of the women pulled from the house at a local security company.
“Coincidence,” he laughed when asked about the connection. “She sent some messages saying thank you and thanks for saving my life.”
