KEY POINTS:
The heroic actions of two brave men who fought through flames to save a woman from her burning house were, tragically, not enough as she died yesterday morning.
Shirley Corlett, 64, died after a fire in the bedroom of her Thames St, New Plymouth, home. Neighbours rushed to her aid when they saw the flames, but they were too late.
Mark Gladding risked his life fighting his way into the burning bedroom to save Shirley.
"I tried to get in, but all the doors were locked. So I smashed a window and jumped in." Following the smoke, he got to the bedroom where flames had engulfed the bed.
"She was on the floor of her bedroom when I found her. There was a hell of a lot of black smoke and flames, it was hard to breathe. I couldn't see well. So I just grabbed her by her wrists and pulled her out." Gladding dragged Corlett into the living room, where he waited to see if the fire would hold off, as he was wary of moving her.
"But then the fire got pretty bad, and I thought the whole house was going to go up."
That's when another neighbour and a bystander burst in.
"We bolted into the home... and we just charged in to pull her out," said the neighbour, who didn't want to be named. He said he had been traumatised by the fire.
Both men said they weren't heroes. They just acted on instinct.
"I don't want to be a hero; I'm not, because she died. But it's just one of those things you just get into and do your best and don't really think about it. I'd do it again if I had to," said the neighbour.
