North: Couple rescued from the flames by an off-duty firefighter

On Thursday afternoon, two people were rescued from the flames thanks to the quick thinking of Dylan Pernet, 24, a first-class firefighter at the Cateau-Cambrésis fire station. Just a few metres from where he is standing, a fire has just broken out in a stairwell leading to three flats across two floors. Then Dylan hears someone shouting “Help, help!” and sees two people leaning out of a window. “I told them under no circumstances to jump, and to put damp cloths over their faces. I explained that I would find a way to save them and that my colleagues would be on their way.” Dylan raises the alarm, then iHe spotted a roofer with a ladder on the roof of his van. He set up the ladder, reached the victims and brought them down safely. The team leader of the first fire engine to arrive at the scene quickly sent a two-person team to rescue a third victim.     Sound the centre manager spoke out : “He is a young man who is very committed to the fire service and the emergency response centre. He reacted brilliantly! The same goes for the attack team who went to rescue the victim from the second floor even though the fire had already spread to the stairwell.” He also passed the information on to his superiors, requesting a reward for Dylan and his two colleagues in the strike team. This evening, Comptroller-General Gilles Grégoire (departmental director) also said he was proud of the successful outcome of this operation, and praised Dylan.