THEY were not recognised nationally for their bravery, but for the residents of Southside, a poor section of Central Kingston, Maurice McIntosh and Karl Finnigan are their heroes.

McIntosh, popularly known as ‘Biggs’ and Finnigan, also called ‘Chappy’, were among a group of residents from a section of the community known as ‘New World Order’ who rescued a driver from a blazing gas tanker which had overturned on the Michael Manley Highway in August.

The tanker had jack-knifed before it overturned and immediately caught fire. The driver of the ill-fated vehicle was trapped inside the cab as the fire spread.

Police officers who were quick on the scene warned onlookers not to approach the truck as it could have exploded, but their warnings fell on deaf ears.

“I hear the man a bawl out and his hand barely a push out. The police come and tell we say him dead already and we fi leave him. Something just chip in a me and me jump up on the truck,” McIntosh said yesterday.

Despite unbearable heat and the danger he faced from the raging flames, McIntosh recalled that all he could think of was saving the man who was desperately crying for help.

“It did hot but after a time me never even feel no heat. We start tear off some iron part and kick out the glass. All this time the fire a get bigger and bigger,” he said.

During the rescue attempt, McIntosh said he almost got stuck in the wreckage.

“My foot hitch up inna the truck and me struggle to get it free before we pull out the man,” he said.

The driver of the oil tanker was then taken to hospital. Police later reported that his injuries were minor. The truck was then doused and the flames quenched by water from two fire department units.

“Him couldn’t talk and him skin did get brown from the heat. The way me get hot me have to go chuck off in the harbour,” McIntosh recalled with a smile.

Neither McIntosh nor Finnigan spoke as if they expected any recognition or reward for their heroic act, but instead were just happy to have saved a life. However, both were a bit peeved that the man who they saved has never tried to make contact with them to express his gratitude.

“We don’t even know the man and we never do it for any reward. The man was going to die and something just kick in,” McIntosh told the Observer. “But we just feel a way say him never come check we and make we know say him grateful for what we do.”

Finnigan was the less talkative of the two but pointed out that he agreed with his neighbour.

“Money is not everything in life sometimes when you show a man say you grateful it go a far way,” Finnigan said.

One resident of Charlotte Street in the community who gave her name as Stacy was full of praise for both men.

“Things like this show that good people live in the ghetto. The stigma would make people believe that all we do are bad things but for us those men are heroes and we are proud of our hometown heroes,” Stacy said.