A hero dad was left fighting for life in hospital after saving his wife and four children from a devastating house fire.
Kyle Clifford and his wife Rebekah, both 27, were getting their children, aged five to nine, dressed when the blaze broke out on Sunday (5/4) morning.
The fire quickly tore through the downstairs of their terraced home in Lincoln while Kyle carried his three daughters and one son to safety.
Kyle then bravely dashed back into the inferno to save Rebekah who was still inside.
The couple became trapped in an upstairs bedroom by the flames until firefighters arrived and dragged them to safety.
The hero dad collapsed outside the house and was rushed to Lincoln County Hospital where he was sent to intensive care.
Rebekah’s mum Dianna Logan, 48, says she is “forever indebted” to Kyle for saving her grandchildren’s lives.
She said: “That morning I woke up to a missed call, with the house phone going off.
“When I looked at my phone, I had missed calls from Rebekah. Before I could message him to see what was going on, a paramedic called me.
“They said, ‘your daughter’s house is on fire, we have got them all out and could I come to hospital’.
“I was in a daze, you don’t expect that sort of call.
“I started getting ready to go and the police called next.
“They said, ‘we have got them all out but your son-in-law took the brunt of it’. That’s all they told me.
“They were all upstairs getting changed and ready for breakfast.
“At some stage, someone screamed ‘fire’ and my daughter shouted to get the kids out.
“Kyle got them outside but then he went back upstairs as my daughter Rebekah was trapped in the front bedroom.
“She was calling the fire brigade and trying to get the dogs.
“They got trapped, the smoke and flames overtook everything. Fire crews then arrived to rescue them.
“Luckily, my granddaughter said that a paramedic who was heading to work noticed the blaze and stopped to help. It was so incredibly fortunate she was there.”
Kyle was rushed to hospital and is still undergoing treatment in the ICU ward after he was believed to have inhaled asbestos.
Dianna said: “He’s had the arterial line taken out now and he has been moved to a normal ward. He has also managed to have a wash.
“We were sent a photo of him sitting up in bed and he was absolutely covered in soot.
“He was hooked up to wires and he just looked awful.
“But he’s getting there for sure. No one is allowed to see him at the moment because of the restrictions on coronavirus. It’s just all so surreal.
“Kyle keeps saying, ‘it wasn’t me it was the fire brigade’, but if it wasn’t for him they wouldn’t be here.
“But he doesn’t think he’s a hero or takes any of the credit.
“To think that 95 per cent of my life was in that house. Those kids are my world. I can’t put into words how grateful I am to him.”
Their small terraced house has been completely ruined, with pictures showing the chaos caused by the inferno.
Dianna added: “Everything in the front room is gone due to smoke damage.
“We may be able to salvage bits out the kitchen but we don’t know about any of the other rooms.
“There’s nothing left in the front room at all, it’s down to the bricks.
“That’s how hot the fire was. There is nothing at all. It even burnt the sofa to bits.
“An inspector has been round to put in ceiling supports and assess the damage.
“They weren’t insured but a lot of people aren’t nowadays. It’s just one of those things, the important thing is they are safe.
“There are now 11 people in our three-bedroom house, which isn’t ideal but of course I happily do it.
“Our self-isolation rules got broken obviously. That went out the window.
“I had been doing it for three weeks as I am high risk. But family come first.
“The fire brigade, nurses, paramedics were all wonderful I can’t thank them enough.
A spokesperson from Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue said: “Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue were called at 7.37am to an incident on Monks Road in Lincoln Two crews from Lincoln North, a crew from Lincoln South and Waddington attended a fire at a house.
“Crews in breathing apparatus rescued two adults from an upstairs bedroom and two dogs from the property.
“There was fire damage to the downstairs living room and hallway, smoke damage to the remainder of the property.
“Crews used one main jet, one hose reel and breathing apparatus to extinguish the fire.”
A JustGiving page which was launched to raise money for the family has so far raised £1,000.