“I wrapped my vest around my head to protect myself”
But then it was a resident of said building who caught his attention. “She was outside. She told me there were two people still inside, upstairs.” At first, it didn’t occur to him to return. “I first rang all the bells, in order to warn them that there was danger.” But since that would have been a little too easy, the lady told him that the doorbells were broken. “So I stuck my head through the doorway and screamed.” He shouted for them to come back. But no response. “They couldn’t hear me.” On the other hand, he clearly heard the couple’s panicked cries when they realized there was a fire. “So, I came home. I wrapped my vest around my head for protection, and climbed in. I didn’t even think twice before going.”
He then helped the couple out of the building. “At one point the lady fell and I helped her get up.” But they were finally able to escape from the building. And as firefighters indicated, there were no injuries. “I still had to go to the CHR in Verviers because I had inhaled a lot of smoke. But I was able to get out after a few hours.”
Not on his first try
Few people would have embarked on such an adventure. But Anas, yes. “I’m a security guard. It was quite natural for me to intervene.” Moreover, a little over a year ago, he had already subdued an attacker during a knife attack in Verviers.
