A crew of firefighters who saved the life of a colleague who had collapsed during a training exercise have been nominated for a national award.
 
Watch commander Samantha Burton was taking part in a hot house breathing apparatus training exercise in January when her colleague and fellow crew member, Kelly Paddock, suddenly collapsed after reporting symptoms of ill health.
 
Sam said: “I was in the fire house waiting for the crew to advance to the fire compartment when the alarm was raised. The crew that Kelly was part of during the exercise acted quickly and calmly to carry her out of the fire house immediately following her collapse. It was obvious that this was an emergency situation.
 
“The next ten minutes were both traumatic and intense. Adding to the stress was the realisation that it was one of my own crew members” Crew commander Rebecca Woolley, firehouse operative Ian Revell and firefighters Peggy Male, Amanda Corbett and Andrew Johnson formed the team that provided the life saving treatment that Kelly needed.
 
“Kelly was rapidly stripped of her breathing apparatus equipment enabling me to assess her condition. With no visible sign of life I started CPR. The team acted professionally, and without pause or hesitation, fell into a practiced system of work, despite the obvious pressure that we were under,” Sam added.
 
The efforts of Sam and her colleagues, with the combined use of the defibrillator, undoubtedly saved Kelly’s life, a fact later confirmed by the consultant anaesthetist at Sandwell General Hospital where Kelly was taken.

Sam said: “It’s really hard to describe how you would feel in a situation like this when it involves a friend and colleague. There is no doubt that the training, equipment and team work saved Kelly’s life.  For us all to be nominated for a national award is both exciting and a privilege.”

Sam and her colleagues will be guests at the National Fire Fighters Charity Spirit of Fire awards to be held at Wembley Stadium in London on 4 June.  They have been shortlisted for an award in the Firefighter of the year category.

For further details visit: http://www.firefighterscharity.org.uk/

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