Shropshire firefighters save over 200 lives in a year
Shropshire's firefighters have saved more than 200 lives over the past year from crashes, floods and fires, it was revealed today.
Since April last year, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service has saved a total of 218 lives according to figures released by the emergency service.
Firefighters rescued a total of 11 people from fires – just five per cent of the total of lives rescued – while three were led to safety, and five rescued from floods.
A further two people were saved by being told to "stay put", 82 advised to leave the property, and 33 given first aid at the scene of a fire.
Fire crews cut 42 free from car crashes and 18 were given first aid after the crashes. There were also 22 other rescues in which lives were saved.
One of those saved by the fire service was 76-year-old John Luce who collapsed in his back garden in Wem.
Firefighters were called to his home in Wemsbrook during April last year to deal with a garden fire.
By the time crews arrived, Mr Luce and some neighbours had almost put out the blaze which had spread along a wooden fence and a lean to shed.
It had melted a drainpipe and cracked a window of the house.
Firefighters were getting out a hose reel and thermal imaging camera to damp down any remaining sparks when Mr Luce collapsed.
Watch Manager Phil Smith, 59 had also suffered eight cardiac arrests a number of years ago.
He said: "He was flat on the floor and going purple.
"I shouted for one of the crew to ring an ambulance and another to run and fetch the defibrillator from the fire truck."
The life saving machine alerted firefighters to "shock" the patient as his heart had stopped.
"Within seconds he was back with us. Within five minutes he sat up talking to us. I couldn't believe it," he said.
Because of their actions, the crew received an award from the Chief Fire Officer for saving a life.
Mr Luce, a retired funeral director, has fully recovered after undergoing heart bypass surgery.
Last month, more than 40 firefighters were called to the Tafs Garden Co site in St Georges, Telford when a huge blaze broke out late at night.
They spent more than 12 hours at the scene of the fire and worked to keep it within just one area of the yard.
Also last month, crews cut two people free from the wreckage following a collision between two cars and a lorry near Oswestry.
The on the B4396 at Knockin left a man in critical but stable condition after being airlifted to hospital with serious injuries.
In its yearly overview of life saved, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service has also calculated an "economic value of life" for those people it saved.
In a statement accompanying the figures it said that there is "no standard concept for the value of a specific human life in economics" but the average cost to the economy of a fatal road collision is £1.2m.
Rescues carried out the brigade in the last year have been calculated to have "saved" almost £44million.
Chief fire officer John Redmond said: "We are always keen to demonstrate the value of the service to our local communities, not only in terms of the reduction of incidents that local people experience, but also to show the financial value we provide for taxpayers."
But despite the hundreds of lives saved, Mr Redmond said many of the fires the crews attend are out on arrival thanks to smoke alarms.
People living in a house without a smoke alarm – or who remove the batteries – are four times more likely to die in a blaze.
He said: "More than half the fires we attend are out by the time we get there due to the high number of working smoke alarms and better safety education for everyone.
"Three quarters of house and flat fires start in the kitchen but early warning from smoke alarms reduces the impact."
The figures show a fall on the amount of lives saved from the previous year April 2014 – March 2015 when 312 were rescued.
