Into the blackened, smoke-filled room they go.
With their arms shielding their faces from the choking smoke, they yell out.
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CCTV: Hero tradies rescue people from burning bank
Watch as two men navigate through smoke to help customers and staff escape from a burning bank in Springvale.
"Anybody there? Anybody there? Can you hear me?"
Newly released footage shows the moment two hero tradesmen enter the burning Commonwealth Bank in Springvale last Friday in a desperate attempt to save the people inside.
Police released the CCTV footage showing the tradies in fluoro orange, high-visibility gear bravely making their way into the bank.
The vision also shows the extent of the thick, choking black smoke inside the bank that made it near-impossible for the customers and staff to find the exit.
Police say the two tradies saved lives that day and urged them to come forward to assist with their investigation.
One of the men was believed to be former Collingwood player Kyle Martin but a Victoria Police spokeswoman said on Friday night neither of the men in the footage had yet been identified.
![Kyle Martin played six games for Collingwood.](/web/20161127084729im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/x/w/8/v/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsxa5q.png/1480059046434.jpg)
Mr Martin confirmed earlier on Friday he had been in the bank just prior to the incident, and just missed out being caught up in the fire.
"I got to the van and sort of I heard all this screaming and turned around and there was all this black smoke," he said.
![Police have released this footage of a hero tradie who went inside the Springvale bank searching for survivors.](/web/20161127084729im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/x/5/d/x/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsxa5q.png/1480059046434.jpg)
"There was a spot fire at the front.
"It was something I will never forget."
![Ashley Atkin-Fone picked up a fire extinguisher and helped douse the blaze.](/web/20161127084729im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/s/k/l/l/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsxa5q.png/1480059046434.jpg)
Mr Martin, who played six games for Collingwood and now plays for Noble Park, said he ran back to the bank and worked to put out a fire out the front of the branch with an extinguisher.
"It was obvious there were still people inside, because you could hear people in there."
![Another image from CCTV footage showing one of the men who went inside the Springvale bank.](/web/20161127084729im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/x/a/h/r/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsxa5q.png/1480059046434.jpg)
Two other men – Junior Dean and Mitch Jackson – charged through the back doors of the bank that day, searching for survivors.
Father of 12 and New Zealand native Junior Dean was stepping out of the Springvale post office when he saw severely burnt, screaming people running out from the bank.
![Junior Dean said that the inside of the bank was 'just thick smoke'.](/web/20161127084729im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/s/y/x/8/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsxa5q.png/1480059046434.jpg)
The 47-year-old immediately ran to help and was told people were trapped inside. Mr Dean knew of a laneway that would surely lead to the back door of the bank.
Mitch Jackson, 28, was helping extinguish the flames at the front of the bank when he also heard customers were still trapped.
![The flames inside the Commonwealth Bank in Springvale.](/web/20161127084729im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/s/g/1/o/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsxa5q.png/1480059046434.jpg)
He too ran to the back door, where he found Mr Dean. Together, they went inside.
"We covered our faces and went in," Mr Jackson said.
![Mitch Jackson charged through the back doors of the bank.](/web/20161127084729im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/t/6/i/l/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gsxa5q.png/1480059046434.jpg)
"The Kiwi guy [Junior Dean] went in super fast ... he saw somebody flashing their phone. We made a line and guided them out the door."
Two more staff members made their way out.
Then Mr Dean went back inside alone.
"We couldn't see anything, it was just thick smoke," Mr Dean said.
"We were just shouting and just calling out, 'Anybody there, anybody there'."
Mr Dean brought out another five people, guiding them to safety with the sound of his voice.
Among those last five to escape was the man police believe was responsible for the blaze.
Mr Dean found him in the laneway trying to send a text message from his phone. He grabbed the man's phone and kept him in a corner until police arrived.Â
Back on Springvale Road, tradie Ashley Atkin-Fone was helping victims at the front of the bank.
He had been laying pipes in an alleyway opposite the Springvale Road bank when he heard a "big blast" and seconds later heard a child's screams.
He rushed across the road, picked up a fire extinguisher and began dousing the flames at the front doors.
"All I could see was this black smoke, it was just an absolute mess at the front of the shop," he said.
"I got the fire out, took four steps inside and I was shouting and shouting but couldn't hear anyone."
Twenty-seven people were injured in the Springvale blaze, including six who were seriously burnt.
The man believed responsible for the fire remains in a critical condition in the intensive care unit of The Alfred hospital.
Another victim, also in intensive care, is in critical but stable condition. Two other victims are in a stable condition at the hospital.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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