A quick-thinking bus driver has been praised after he manoeuvred his double-decker alongside a burning building to allow a man to escape a serious house fire. 
 
 The naked victim was able to leap from a second floor window onto the bus’ roof after Andy Waterman, the 48-year-old driver, pulled up alongside. 
 
 Mr Waterman was heading to his depot in Braintree, Essex, when a group of people in the road alerted him to the blaze. 
 
 The man in the flat, who was naked because he was in the shower when the fire started, jumped 10ft onto the bus roof. 
 
 Mr Waterman then slowly drove away with the man balanced on top of his vehicle, which was out of service at the time and had no passengers aboard. 
 
 When they were at a safe distance, firefighters were able to put up a ladder to rescue the man, in his 40s, who was later treated for smoke inhalation. 
 
 Mr Waterman, of West Mersea, Essex, said: "The police told me that I did a good job. It wasn't until I got home that someone said that I had saved a life. 
 
 "I have been driving buses for eight years and nothing like this has happened before. I am just pleased the man is alive." 
 
 Describing his role in the drama, he said: "A group of people started flagging me down and they were asking me to stop. 
 
 "I drove nearer and all I could see was thick, black smoke. 
 
 "We lined the bus up, close to the building to enable him to jump from the flat roof on to the top of the bus - he had no other exit. 
 
 "The poor guy was in the shower - he was completely naked. It was freezing cold.” 
 
 A spokesman for Essex Fire and Rescue said: "Without the quick-thinking of Mr Waterman this incident could have had a very different outcome and the man who managed to get onto the roof could well have lost his life." 
 
 Adrian Jones, a manager at First Essex bus company, said: "We are very proud of him - he was in the right place at the right time and knew what to do.” 
 
 Essex Police are treating the fire, above a café, as arson and have launched a criminal investigation. ||||| Flat above shops alight - one casualty - PHOTOS 
 
 CM7 1JP, High Street, Braintree, 
 
 11/02/2015 @ 19:31 
 
 Incident Number: 31391 
 
 In attendance: 2 x Braintree, 2 x Halstead, 1 x Wethersfield, 2 x Chelmsford (aerial ladder platform), 1 x Basildon (Incident Command Unit) 
 
 A man clambered out of a window onto the top of a bus to escape a blaze in his flat above Ben's Cafe. When they arrived at the scene, firefighters pitched a ladder to reach him and bring him to safety. The casualty, believed to be in his forties, was treated by Ambulance Service paramedics after breathing in smoke. 
 
 Initially two appliances were sent to the scene but on arrival, the incident commander requested the attendance of an additional two appliances and an aerial ladder platform. At the height of firefighting operations, six appliances and an aerial ladder platform were at the scene. 
 
 Crews arriving at the incident reported that the first floor and roof of the three-storey flat were well alight and the first floor heavily smoke logged. 
 
 At 20:47 hrs, the incident commander reported steady progress in bringing the blaze under control. Firefighters in breathing apparatus were using two hose reels, two jets and an aerial ladder platform as they worked to extinguish flames. 
 
 At 21:12 hrs, firefighters reported that the fire was surrounded and steady progress was being made in extinguishing flames. Two jets, two hose reels and the aerial ladder platform were still in use as operations continued. 
 
 A fire investigation officer has been called to the scene to establish the cause of the blaze. 
 
 At 22:30 hrs, crews were still at the scene with the blaze under control. Three jets and three hose reels were being used to fight the fire. 
 
 Assistant Divisional Officer Dave Barritt, incident commander, said: “The man was trapped on the third floor and there was no way he could get out. If the bus hadn’t been there I don’t know how he would have escaped, the fall could easily have killed him. The bus driver’s actions saved this man’s life. 
 
 “It’s an unusual rescue, but it was extremely effective.” 
 
 The incident was dealt with by 03:15 hrs. A joint Police and Fire Service investigation will be carried out to establish the cause. 
 
 The bus driver has been named as Andy Waterman. He is set to receive a commendation from Acting Chief Fire Officer Adam Eckley. 
 
 First Bus in Essex have issued the following statement: 
 
 A bus driver from Essex has been hailed a hero after he helped to rescue a man following a flat fire. 
 
 Eight fire crews were called to a flat fire above a shop in Braintree High Street Road at around 1930hrs on Wednesday, February 11. 
 
 Andy Waterman, a driver for First Essex, was driving the out of service bus back to First’s Braintree depot at the end of his shift when a group of people alerted him to the blaze. 
 
 Andy, who lives in West Mersea, positioned his double decker bus close to the roof of the flat, allowing the man to jump to safety. 
 
 He said: “A group of people started flagging me down and they were asking me to stop. I asked them what the problem was and they said a man was stuck on the roof of his flat because it was on fire. I drove nearer and all I could see was thick, black smoke. I saw the man and thought ‘We’ve got to get him to safety’.” 
 
 Andy positioned the bus as close to the flat as possible, while making sure he didn’t endanger himself or anyone else. 
 
 The man jumped around 10 ft onto the roof of the bus and Andy slowly drove away. The fire brigade then rescued the man from the roof of the bus. 
 
 Andy added: “The police told me that I did a good job. It wasn’t until I got home that someone said that I had saved a life. 
 
 “I have been driving buses for eight years and nothing like this has happened before. I am just pleased the man is alive.” 
 
 Adrian Jones, Managing Director for First Essex, praised Andy’s actions. 
 
 He said: “We are very proud of Andy – he was in the right place at the right time. We are pleased to hear the man is ok and we wish him a quick recovery.” ||||| Image caption Firefighters had to tackle the blaze in the roof of the three-storey building from an aerial ladder platform 
 
 A naked man jumped on to the roof of a double-decker bus from a top-floor flat which had caught fire. 
 
 The man, who is thought to have been in the shower, leapt 10ft (3m) from a second-storey window above a cafe in Braintree, Essex. 
 
 Andy Waterman reversed his bus so the man, who was treated for breathing in smoke, could make the jump to safety. 
 
 "He's got some courage," Mr Waterman said. "But had he not he may not be here today." 
 
 Police said they were now treating Wednesday's fire as arson. 
 
 They want to find a man, believed to be aged about 19, who was spotted fleeing the scene. 
 
 Image caption Essex Fire and Rescue says bus driver Andy Waterman is to receive the chief fire officer's commendation 
 
 Bus company First Essex said Mr Waterman was driving the out-of-service double-decker back to the depot when a group of people stopped him to ask him to help. 
 
 'Ultimate last resort' 
 
 "We lined the bus up, close to the building to enable him to jump from the flat roof on to the top of the bus - he had no other exit," Mr Waterman said. 
 
 "The poor guy was in the shower - he was completely naked. It was freezing cold." 
 
 Image caption The man was in a flat at the top of the building when he leapt to safety 
 
 Mr Waterman said he moved the bus, with the man still on top, away from the fire. 
 
 "We waited five minutes or so for the emergency services to turn up," he said. 
 
 "They lobbed some clothes up to him and eventually got him down from the roof of the bus." 
 
 Four people were assessed by paramedics at the scene, in High Street, and the man who leapt from the flat was taken to Broomfield Hospital before being discharged. 
 
 Essex Fire and Rescue's Dave Barritt said: "If the bus hadn't been there we would be having a much more serious and sombre conversation." 
 
 Image caption The timber-framed building housed a coffee bar and night shelter 
 
 Image caption Braintree District Council said it would offer assistance to "those affected" 
 
 Mr Barritt, the incident commander, said: "It must have been a traumatic experience for him. 
 
 "It is the ultimate last resort for an escape plan." 
 
 Fire crews took some eight hours to get the fire under control after being called at about 19:30 GMT. 
 
 The fire service tweeted that Mr Waterman is to get the chief fire officer's commendation for his actions. 
 
 According to the Braintree Emergency Night Shelter (BENS) website, a homeless hostel with four bedrooms operates from the same building at the cafe. 
 
 Braintree District Council said it would be "offering appropriate assistance to those affected". 
 
 A structural engineer is due to assess the damage at the timber-framed building.
– With fire racing through a third-story apartment in Braintree, England, and no firefighters in sight, death or serious injury appeared to be inevitable for a man trapped by the flames. Enter Andy Waterman, bus driver. Waterman was driving an out-of-service double-decker bus back to the depot when he was flagged down by a group of people seeking help, the BBC reports. Waterman drove up to the burning building to allow the man to jump onto the roof of his bus. "He had no other exit," Waterman tells the BBC. "The poor guy was in the shower—he was completely naked. It was freezing cold." Waterman slowly drove a short distance away with the man still on the roof of the bus. Firefighters arrived with a ladder—and clothes—a few minutes later. "If the bus hadn't been there, I don't know how he would have escaped, the fall could easily have killed him. The bus driver's actions saved this man's life," a fire department spokesman said in a statement. "It's an unusual rescue, but it was extremely effective." Waterman, who will receive a commendation for his actions, says that in his eight years of driving buses, "nothing like this has happened before. I am just pleased the man is alive." The rescued man was treated for smoke inhalation, and the fire is being investigated as arson, reports the Telegraph.