And you know as well as the rest of us that the fire service wont be going up those stairs until people have stopped coming down them.
If anyone has attended a fire and smoke course recently you will know what the standard drill is, and you will also know that what this crew did was the correct thing.
As much as I hate to say it, its better to have one dead guy, than one dead guy and three dead crew who tried but failed to rescue him.
My thinking is get everyone out who can get out, and leave the rest for the fire crew who have the right equipment and training to deal with this.