Hero crane driver describes desperate scramble to save workman from Reading inferno

Worker was dramatically rescued by a crane on the roof, with footage showing person being lifted to safety

A crane worker who saved a man from a burning high-rise in Reading has described how the dramatic rescue unfolded.

Two men were rescued by crane and taken to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation after the large fire broke out at the Station Hill development site in the Berkshire town on Thursday morning.

Footage showed the moment Glen Edwards used the winch he was operating to move a cage towards a workman trapped on the building surrounded by flames and thick smoke.

Glen Edwards was the man operating the crane during the rescue effort (BPM MEDIA)

Mr Edwards, 65, said: “I was no more than 20 metres up in the air and I looked out my left-hand window and saw a guy standing on the corner of the building.

“I’d only just seen him and someone said ‘can you get the cage on’, so that was it, I got the cage on and got it over to him the best I could. It was quite windy conditions. I would say it was a very close call, if you look at the video at the way the wind was swirling around there.

“I tried to put the cage down between him and the flames, but I was hampered by the wind swirling around there. But I got the cage down and I managed to get him in there.”

More than 50 firefighters were scrambled to the Station Hill development site as the emergency services urged people to stay away from the area.

The huge blaze lit up the building in Reading town centre (PA Media)

As the blaze engulfed the high-rise tower block, footage captured the crane rescue before a crowd burst into applause.

Two people, including the individual rescued from the One Station Hill building, were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation, neither of which are being treated as severe cases.

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said that everyone else was accounted for after the fire, which could be seen from miles away.

A witness to the epic rescue said the workman was lucky the crane came just in time.

Two people were taken to hospital for smoke inhalation (Tom Canning)

The carpenter, who was working nearby, said: “I was in the next door building, there was a guy standing up there (on top of the building), luckily the crane came in just in time.

“He was coughing [when he came down], from the smoke, you know what I mean. When he got inside the crane and the crane put him down everyone was clapping.

“The crane driver was very fast. He was still in the crane while the building was on fire.”

Authorities at the scene of the fire on Thursday (PA)

The £750m Station Hill development, close to Reading Station, is intended to be a business and living quarter for the town.

Redwood Consulting, on behalf of Station Hill, said: “We activated our fire emergency plans immediately, the emergency services were notified and are currently on site.

“The safety of those on site and the wider public is always our first priority, and the site has been evacuated as a result.”

Thames Valley Police were also called to the incident and said that road closures had been put in place from Forbury roundabout to Forbury Road, Friar Street and Friar West.

The force added that it was working to allow access for residents to premises that have not been affected by the fire and to the nearby hotels.

At 2.45pm Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that the fire had been extinguished but crews remain at the scene to dampen down the affected areas.