Neighbors Rush Into Burning Home to Save 87 Year Old Woman With Alzheimer's

July 7, 2026

A group of neighbors in England are being celebrated as heroes after risking their own lives to rescue an 87-year-old woman from a house fire, proving that complete strangers can still do extraordinary things for one another.

Phyllis Day / New York Post

Late Thursday night, flames broke out inside the Wigston, Leicestershire home of Phyllis Day, who was asleep upstairs and completely unaware of the danger. Because she has Alzheimer's and had removed her hearing aids before going to bed, she never heard the smoke alarms.

Outside, neighbors spotted the fire just before 11:30 p.m. and immediately sprang into action. They desperately tried to force their way inside while waiting for firefighters to arrive.

Watching the terrifying scene unfold through her mother's doorbell camera, Suzanne Wright realized she could still help from afar. Using the camera's two way intercom, she guided the neighbors on how to get into the house.

Moments later, they made a decision that likely saved a life.

"When I saw them open the door and all step back, I realized that these people had run into a burning building to save my mummy, who was a relative stranger to them," Wright told the BBC.

"To not know what bedroom my mum was in and not know that you're going to be able to get back down the stairs... they're heroes."

Among those who raced upstairs were 28 year old Pav Sarpal and 44 year old Stephan Smart.

"It's the worst thing I've ever seen in my life. The flames, the smoke," Sarpal recalled.

"I went in first, I couldn't breathe. I said to my partner to get me a towel so I can go upstairs and take her down."

He described the smoke as overwhelming.

"It was like you were physically getting choked by the smoke. I came down twice to get fresh air and then back up to bring Sue's mum down."

Smart said the only thing on his mind was reaching the woman trapped upstairs.

"I panicked a little to start with. All I knew was that somebody was upstairs and I had to get up there and get her down as quickly as possible."

The pair found Day asleep in bed and woke her.

"She looked at me like I was going to rob her or something," Smart said with a laugh. "But I got her out of bed. Pav was next to me and we got her down, slowly, but in time."

Wright believes there is no doubt the neighbors saved her mother's life.

"Those people saved my mum's life, without question," she said. "My mum would have only had a couple of minutes at most."

She added that the experience restored her faith in people.

"When people are that amazing, people who barely know each other, the world isn't all bad."