Brave man who rescued two people from flames in separate incidents dies after home blaze

Published: 21 May 2010
by ROISIN GADELRAB

HE saved the lives of two people from fires but in a terrible twist of fate, 62-year-old Robbie Allen lost his life on Monday after a blaze broke out in his own home.

Mr Allen’s youngest sister Kathleen Kelly, who lives in Archway, said her brave brother, whose real name is Robert, had rescued two men from separate fires over the past 15 years – once saving a neighbour who’d left his cooker on and another time pulling a man from a burning car after a crash near his home.

Neighbours have told of their sorrow after trying in vain to save Mr Allen, when a fire broke out at his flat in the New Orleans estate, Upper Holloway, on Monday evening. When mother-of-two Lita Hill smelled burning plastic while she was cooking dinner, she ran down to Mr Allen’s flat below.

She said: “I was knocking. The door was ajar and I called my neighbour. He went in but he coughed and came back out. I feel kind of bad thinking about if I’d done it quicker. But I’m not trained to go into fires.”

Mr Allen was taken to hospital but died later in the evening.

His sister Mrs Kelly said: “He rescued two people from fires over the years. He rescued his neighbour who had fallen asleep with a pot on the stove. Robbie heard the alarm, got in the door and pulled him out. Another time somebody crashed their car into a wall. The doors were locked, it was on fire and Robbie smashed the back window and dragged him out. He saved his life without thinking. It’s ironic that this happened and nobody succeeded in saving him. I know a neighbour tried but he was beaten back by the flames.”

Fondly known as Robbie, Mr Allen grew up in Limerick, Ireland, with his six siblings, later following his close family to England. He never married, but instead became a second father to his many nieces and nephews. 

He devoted years to record company CBS Records and was a real music-lover.

Mrs Kelly said: “We’re absolutely devastated. He was a wonderful brother and uncle and everybody loved him. You never came across such a peaceful man. 

“Robbie could sing you any song. And he loved poetry. He was very intelligent.

“He liked a drink but there was so much more to him than that.”

She recalled one occasion when Mr Allen took pity on a man he met in an Irish bar who’d become agitated at hearing drinkers singing rebel songs.

She said: “It was during the Troubles. The man asked Robbie if he knew any Orange songs. Robbie asked which one he’d like and the man’s eyes opened. He sang him The Sash My Father Wore, which is one of the most Orange songs. The man was stunned. Robbie offered him a drink and the man said ‘No, I’ll buy you a drink’ and they were friends ever since. Robbie did that for him in a pub full of Irish people. 

“I was so proud to have him as my brother for that. This is the kind of person he was. He was a worldwide person, it didn’t matter where you came from. Robbie’s generation really appreciated being able to come here and work.”

The family are still trying to understand how non-smoker Mr Allen got caught up in the blaze. 

It is understood he was in the kitchen and the taps were running, possibly so he could douse the flames.

Mrs Kelly said: “We couldn’t bear the thought of him feeling any pain. Our only consolation is that the smoke made him unconscious.”

His niece Sharon Brennan said: “He was such a lovely person, real soft-hearted. Everyone knew Robbie, he was always jolly, a real gentle fellow.”

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: “Around half of the ground floor flat was damaged by fire. A man was rescued from the flat by firefighters in breathing apparatus and was taken to hospital by the London Ambulance Service, where he later died. 

“The Brigade was called at 1806 and the fire was under control by 1846. 

“The cause of the fire is under investigation.”