Margaret - Points of View

Margaret - Two points of view

House Fire Scene - Narrator

Jane awoke to the sound of young Alex shouting “Mummy. Mummy there’s a fire.” And just across the hallway Emma was crying. More worryingly there was no sound from little Stevie’s room. Jane turned to wake Henry when he stuck his head out from under the covers and said “What’s up?”

There is a fire according to Alex. “I can’t smell anything and the fire alarm hasn’t sounded.” “Still best be safe rather than sorry.” “You get Stevie and I’ll fetch Alex and Emma”.

Jane stepped out onto the landing and soon realised that Alex was telling the truth. There was smoke coming up from the hall below. She looked over the stair rail and saw that the fire was downstairs in the hallway, moving towards the bottom of the stairs. If they were quick they would be able to get out before it reached the stairs.

Jane went into Emma’s room and called for Alex to come to her. She grabbed a flannel and soaked it in the sink and told Emma to hold it over her nose. Alex grabbed a towel and did the same. It’s a good thing Alex takes note of the public information films Jane thought as she led the children down the stairs next to the wall. By now the fire alarm had gone off making it nearly impossible for Jane to give instructions to the children. She grabbed Emma’s hand and looked round Alex already had hold of her other arm and was leading Emma down the stairs.

Jane, Emma, and Alex all got out of the front door alright but they did not know what had happened to Henry or the baby. Jane had last seen Henry heading towards Stevie’s room at the back of the house.

As they came out of the house one of the neighbours took the two eldest children. Jane had run back into the house to try and save Henry and the baby before anyone could stop her.

Henry had managed to pass the baby out of the back window into the arms of one of the neighbours who was waiting to catch him. The window was too small for Henry to get out so he turned to go down the stairs. By now the banisters were burning and the flames had flared up and set the rail at the top of the stairs alight, the hall was thick with smoke, Henry was overcome by the smoke and fell he was getting up to make a second attempt when the burning banister rail fell and hit him. Jane ran in to try and drag Henry out which she did eventually but burned her hands severely in doing so.

When Jane finally got Henry out of the front door she was greeted by Mr Nugent and Mr Brown carrying a ladder and Alex who told her Mrs Nugent was calling for a fire engine and ambulance. A few minutes later Mrs Nugent arrived with blankets and an invitation to stay the night.

House Fire Scene - First Person

I was woken up by the sound of Alex shouting “Mummy. Mummy there’s a fire.” I could hear loud sobs from Emma’s room just across the hall. Then I realised that there was no noise from little Stevie’s room, which was even more worrying. I turned to wake Henry when he stuck his head out from under the covers and said “What’s up?”

I replied there is a fire according to Alex. “I can’t smell anything and the fire alarm hasn’t sounded, but Alex is shouting there’s a fire and Emma is sobbing her eyes out. And there is no noise from Stevie’s room. “Henry said “If Alex is making a fuss it’s almost, then we had better get them out of the house quickly. He’s not one to make a fuss except when it is necessary.” By this time I was on my way across the landing to get the children.

I shouted to Henry to fetch Stevie.

As I went out of our room I looked down the stairs and saw the fire moving along the corridor from the kitchen towards the stairs. I ran to Emma’s room first as I knew that when she is scared she will freeze like a frightened rabbit.

I called to Alex to come to me in Emma’s room. Which he did so quickly that I realised he must have been standing waiting for me to call him. Alex seemed a lot calmer than I was, he had taken the towel from his bedroom and soaked it in the sink and covered his face with it. Just like in the public information film he saw last night.

I tried to coax Emma out, but Alex realised the need for immediate action, grabbed her towel and soaked it telling her to put it across her mouth. He then grabbed her other arm and started to pull her towards the landing. I realise that Emma was going to slow us down and we didn‘t have time to spare, Alex headed out of the door in front of me picking up the key from the table on the landing as we went. By the time we got to the top of the stairs the flames were starting to burn some of the banisters. I said to Alex “Stay by the wall, get down the stairs and outside as fast as you can“.

Alex got down the stairs with me close on his heals; he was still struggling with the door when the fire alarm went off. As I came to the through the door I saw Alex running in the direction of Mrs Nugent‘s house. I told Emma to follow Alex, giving her an encouraging push in the right direction. I ran to the back of the house to see if Henry had managed to get out with Stevie. When I got there Mr Brown was holding Stevie, Henry had dropped him out of the bathroom window to Mr Brown who had got up onto the garage roof. Henry was too big to get out of the window, so he turned back and headed down the stairs. I panicked and went back in after him just in time to see the burning stair rail fall across the stairs; it hit him on the head. He passed out; I ran to him and frantically pulled him out from under the burning rail. How I managed to drag him clear I don’t know but I did. The blow had knocked him unconscious, and he had sustained first degree burns. I was lucky I wasn’t killed but I escaped with burns to my hands.

I managed to drag Henry out onto the lawn. By this time Alex was back with Mr Brown, Mr Nugent and a long ladder they were planning to use to get Henry out of an upstairs window. They told me that an ambulance and the fire service were on the way. A minute or two after this Mrs Nugent arrived with some blankets and an invitation for the family to stay the night.