Dulverton tenant hailed as hero for fatal blaze rescue attempt

A MAN who died in a fire which ripped through a block of four flats in Dulverton in the early hours of Tuesday has been named locally as Bob Short, who was in his 50s.
Mr Short lived in an upstairs flat in Herbert House, Dulverton, and was found dead inside it by firefighters who tackled the blaze.
Herbert House, on the corner of Amory Road and Barns Close West, provides temporary sheltered accommodation for homeless people and those with drugs and/or alcohol dependency.
It is run by Worcester-based Sanctuary Housing Association, which manages more than 70,000 properties across England and Scotland.
Mr Short had today still not been formally identified due to difficulty in locating his next of kin.
Fire service and police forensic investigators were continuing to examine the scene to try to work out what caused the fire.
Meanwhile, a second Herbert House tenant, Les Dale, aged 53, has been hailed as a hero for helping to rescue a woman and her dog, Shadow, from a ground floor flat, and for trying to save Mr Short.
Mr Dale saw flames coming through the ceiling of his downstairs flat shortly before 3 am and he rushed to a nearby relative’s house to call for the fire brigade before going back to help the woman.
A fourth occupant, a man in another upstairs flat, was rescued by Dulverton firefighters.
More than 30 firefighters were called to the incident from Dulverton, Wiveliscombe, Bampton, Tiverton, Taunton, and Bridgwater.
A spokewoman for Sanctuary Housing said alternative accommodation would be found for residents while Herbert House was repaired.