HERO firefighter Steve Morris has relived the moment he was engulfed by a wall of flames in a house blaze which claimed two lives.

And after an 11-month battle back from the brink, he has spoken publicly for the first time about the night he desperately tried to save a family from their arson-hit home — and how it nearly cost him his life.

He said: “I realised I was well alight. My immediate reaction was ‘Oh my God, I’m on fire’.”

Mr Morris, a member of Bolton Central’s green watch, suffered horrific burns as he tried to escape from the burning house in Little Holme Walk, Great Lever, last June.

Hameeda Begum, aged 71, and her four-year-old grand-daughter Alana Mian died. Alana’s mum, Saima, was seriously injured.

Speaking to The Bolton News yesterday, Mr Morris described how the night started out as a typical shift.

He said: “It was pretty much just a normal sort of turn out to a fire that involved people.”

But when the crew arrived at the fire, the hoses would not reach the end-terrace house.

Mr Morris said: “We were faced with the choice of whether to wait for the hose reel to be extended, which wastes valuable minutes and seconds, or enter the house knowing we had got no water to save a life.”

They made the call to search the house immediately and climbed through a broken kitchen window.

He made his way upstairs and searched a bedroom but did not find anyone.

He said: “I came out and I was met with a wall of fire. I then had to literally throw myself down the stairs through the fire. At this point I realised I was well alight.

“I got to my feet. I didn’t realise I had broken my elbow when I fell down the stairs. I think the adrenalin was rushing a bit too strongly at this time. I battered my way through the front door.

“At this point it was purely self preservation. I knew the incident had got the better of me.”

Mr Morris’ uniform was so badly damaged by the fire, his colleagues did not initially know it was him. His gloves were stuck to his hands and his boots to his feet so a fellow firefighter began desperately cutting them off and got him into an ambulance.

He said: “The only pain I was suffering was in my hands.

“I was still compos mentis at this time. I remember giving my sister’s phone number to a colleague.”

But the modest firefighter said: “I don’t see my actions as being heroic. I am just a firefighter at the end of the day trying to do his job the best he can.”

Mr Morris is now appealing for any witnesses to the blaze, which is being treated by police as arson, to come forward.

He said: “It is very important that they get these people.”

He added: “I am mortified really that someone has lost two members of their family through someone else’s reckless actions. My heart goes out to that family because they have had to cope with the loss of two family members.”