One summer day there was an explosion and fire in a semi-detached house in Birmingham. The occupant was an 89 year old lady who was virtually housebound. Her next-door neighbour, who did shopping and cooking for her, rushed round to find a scene of devastation. The windows had been blown out and she had to climb over debris to enter the house.

She found the elderly lady in the hallway, badly shaken, took her to the least affected room, went into the kitchen, turned off controls on the gas hob to cut off the gas escaping from unlit rings, used water from the sink to extinguish small fires in the kitchen, and then used a wet towel to tend burns suffered by the elderly lady. Not surprisingly, the intrepid neighbour was awarded a certificate by the Society.

Recommendation from West Midlands Police

Two cars collided on the A6 road north of Luton. A passing motorist stopped to help and found one of the divers trapped by his legs and feet in the footwell. Assuring him that medical help had been called the motorist dealt with the other car but then heard screams coming from the first driver.

He returned to find smoke and flames invading the footwell but, with great bravery and disregard for his own safety, he leant into the car and managed to extricate the trapped driver’s feet. He dragged him out through the driver’s window and to a safe distance from the car just as it burst into flames behind them. The gallant motorist, who had suffered burns to his hands in the rescue, was awarded a certificate by the Society.

Recommendation from Bedfordshire Police

Late one night in August, in South Wales, an elderly lady fell asleep at home after lighting a chip pan. She was fortunate that two passing police officers, on patrol at 2.00am, noticed the fire in her kitchen. They acted immediately, alerted other emergency services, and without regard for their personal safety forced an entry to the premises.

They woke and rescued the occupant from her home and used wet blankets to extinguish the blaze. Their prompt actions not only saved the life of the occupant but also stopped the spread of fire to adjoining premises in which families were asleep. The actions of serving police officers, when on duty, are not normally recognised by the Society for awards but in this exceptional case the officers were presented with certificates for their meritorious actions.

Recommendation from South Wales Police