'I feel like James Bond': Cork man hailed for rescuing neighbour from house fire
The father of a two-week-old baby girl is being hailed a hero after risking his life to save an elderly neighbour whose house was engulfed in flames.
The local community in Mahon, Cork, has been heaping praise on Kelvin Cassells, whose bravery undoubtedly helped save his neighbour's life.
The 24-year-old said he felt like James Bond after rushing to the rescue on Tuesday night shortly after 8pm.
“I was sitting inside my home with my newborn baby when all of a sudden I saw a load of people outside. That was when I ran out and saw all the commotion. Normally, I would panic but I saw there was a life involved, so it was fight or die.”
Witnesses told how they saw Kelvin jump over a side gate to access the house where the fire had taken hold. He managed to avoid the flames — which by that stage were shooting through the back doors and windows of the house — to bring the elderly homeowner to safety.
Kelvin was helped to carry the man to safety by his friend Jack Sweeney, while other neighbours also helped.
“I feel like James Bond,” Kelvin laughed. “It really was like a movie. I could feel the heat from the flames. They were nearly hitting me. I went through the fastest route which was also the most dangerous.” The elderly man is said to be making a positive recovery after suffering minor burns and smoke inhalation. Kelvin says he was glad he was able to help.
“I met him in the ambulance and we had a few words. He just said 'thanks for everything'. I was lucky that I didn’t have to go to hospital but it was still hard to sleep. It was only sinking in that I had saved someone but I would do it again happily.”
Kelvin, who is dad to two-year-old Carter and two-week-old Alora, says Tuesday night's drama was not his first rescue.
“It’s a running joke that fires follow me. A fire broke out in our house when I was six. The bed went up in flames and I went under the bed to rescue the cat. While you might say this wasn’t my first rescue it was my first time rescuing a person. I can’t remember the name of the cat now. All I know is that he ran away two years later.”
Kelvin, a former world champion dancer who once played a candle of all things — Lumière — in , hopes that this latest rescue might serve as an act of redemption following years of guilt.
“The housefire when I was six was started accidentally by me. My mum’s friend had left her lighter down and I lit a chewing gum wrapper that started the blaze.
"We had to move house for two years after that. All our pictures and memories were gone forever and I’ve felt bad ever since. I’ve had about nine lives but I’ll be on my 10th before I can even start to make up for it.”
His girlfriend Saoirse said she is extremely proud of Kelvin
"I was still giving out to him telling him that what he did was dangerous. At the same time, I am very proud."