Hero girl, 9, praised by fire service after children saved from Shropshire house blaze
A brave nine-year-old from Shropshire has been praised for her part in a rescue mission that saw four children saved from a house fire in her home town.
Somer Williams, from Cleobury Mortimer, will be given a certificate for bravery after a house fire in Tenbury Road earlier this month.
Shropshire Fire and Rescue also extended its thanks to staff at the nearby Co-op store for offering a safe place for emergency service to carry out medical checks.
Somer’s father, Dean Williams, was driving past the house and didn’t notice the fire, when Somer turned to him and urged him to go back.
“The fire was going strong,” Dean said.
“All the credit to Somer really as she spotted it. She is only nine herself and she was like a little mother hen round the kids, cuddling them all, making sure they were okay."
The fire spread quickly at about 7pm on February 7.
“I was oblivious, concentrating on the road and she said to me twice there was a fire,” Dean said.
“She did well to actually see it as we were driving past. There was so much smoke but I just thought it might have been steam from cooking. Three or four minutes later things could have been a lot worse. It was the right time, right place.”
Somer said the fire was very large but she wanted to make sure the children were safe.
“It was scary at the time, but I am glad I helped,” Somer said.
“We were scared something dangerous could happen so we took the kids to the Co-op up the road and they let us in the staff room and we started colouring. The people at the Co-op were nice."
Andrew Davies, Cleobury Mortimer watch manager, said: "Thanks to Somer’s brave, instinctive and quick-thinking actions, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service was able to intervene and limit actual fire damage to the inside of the house as the fire started outside the property.
“This fire clearly demonstrates the need for every household to have some sort of escape plan in place just in case the worst should happen. The family couldn’t retrieve the front door key as it was in another room and smoke entering that room made it impossible to retrieve it.
“Always make sure you can open a door or know how to open a window rather than keeping your keys somewhere else that may be affected by the fire you are trying to escape.
“We would also like to thank the Co-Op store for helping the family involved. The staff provided a safe place for the emergency services to carry out medical checks and interviews in comfort, all while the store was continuing to trade. A fantastic example of the local community supporting each other in times of need.
“Cleobury Mortimer Fire Station would like to officially invite Somer to the station so we can present her with a certificate for her bravery.”
