Shropshire heroine speaks over Texas crash blaze horror

Caroline Frost has recalled the moment she arrived at the scene and rescued the woman from the car on a motorway in Texas, America, moments before it burst into flames.

Caroline who is daughter of Telford historian and author Allan Frost and a Lieutenant in Westlake Fire Department in Texas, is the only woman to have received the department's Medal of Valor for bravery. It is only the second medal ever awarded.

Caroline, who is known as 'Jack' Frost, said: "Receiving the award is very humbling as well as very emotional. I feel like I was in the right place at the right time and just clicked into response mode.

"Now that I'm a fire inspector and no longer a firefighter, I'm not very often placed in a situation where I get to be the heroine. The emotion partly came from recalling the events of that day.

"I can still remember feeling the heat on my face as I pulled the woman from her vehicle, as well as the adrenaline rush once I realised everyone was safe. That's hard to forget."

Describing the accident, she said: "I was driving to a conference in Austin around 7am and noticed traffic slowing down on the motorway, then realised pedestrians were on the motorway.

"I then noticed a number of cars on the hard shoulder, and one car in particular that had collided into the concrete median which separated the eastbound four lanes from the four westbound lanes."

Caroline added: "I then noticed I was the first emergency responder on the scene, which was a little concerning as my fire department vehicle, a Ford Escape, even though it has emergency lights is very small compared to the fire engines, and for such a big road, was not going to protect the scene very much."

She told how she manoeuvred her vehicle to best slow traffic down, put on her traffic vest and got uninjured people out of the traffic and off the road to safety, before crossing four lanes of traffic to attend to an injured woman who was still in her car."

Caroline recalled: "As I began to render aid, I heard popping sounds coming from the engine compartment, followed by smoke."

Realising the imminent danger, she called to the uninjured driver. She dragged her clear just as the engine compartment burst into flames.

Caroline, a former pupil of Wrockwardine Wood School in Telford and Newport Girls' High School, added: "I first left Shropshire to live in Texas in 1996 and have been back every few years. The department has been around since 1962. According to the current chief, the award has only been given once before, to a crew who responded to a structure fire and collapse in 2010."

She added: "I am the only woman to receive the medal so far – I'm the only female in the department, so not a lot of competition at the moment. I have been with the department for 11 years.

"As for what I'm going to do with it? For now, pop it on the bookcase in the living room at a level where the cat can't knock it off."