11 hours ago
'I was petrified': Hyde teenager campaigns for better safety after being left in school during fire
A teenage boy who was left alone upstairs during a school fire because there was no safe way to get him out the building has launched a campaign to improve fire safety for disabled students.
Lucas Vezza-O'Brien, 16, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, says he was terrified when smoke began to fill the corridor at his school in Hyde, Greater Manchester, in November 2024.
While other pupils at Hyde High School were evacuated, Lucas was told to stay put.
Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain, Lucas recalled the incident and said: "I was petrified.
"I started to smell smoke and because of my disability, I was worried about my immune system. If I got smoke into my lungs, who knows what would happen?"
Lucas said the school followed the current legislation. He said: "The fire service told the school 'leave the wheelchair users' and we'll come to evacuate them from the building."
The fire turned out to be minor, but the scare has sparked a powerful campaign. The teenager is now calling for evacuation chairs to be made a legal requirement in every school.
Lucas said: "After it happened, I researched the current legislation and I was shocked to see that schools don't have evac chairs.
"They might be costly but you can't put a price on my life, or other people's."
His petition, #NoStudentLeftBehind, is gaining support and Lucas says he is determined no disabled student will ever be left waiting in fear again.
Lucas is working with the Emergency Group, a collective of emergency response companies that provide life-saving emergency equipment including evacuation chairs and defibrillators.
The group donated four evacuation chairs to his school is supporting his campaign for safer and more accessible schools.
"The reaction to the campaign has been amazing." Lucas said.
"Together, we can make a difference."
