South Woodham Ferrers pupil receives top award from Fire Service for bravery
An eight-year-old girl from South Woodham Ferrers has been recognised with a top honour for her bravery during a kitchen fire.
Meet Grace, South Woodham Ferrers’ newest Fire Safety Marshal who received an award for bravery.
Grace, aged 8 from Elmwood Primary School in South Woodham Ferrers has been given a Fire Safety Marshal award by Essex County Fire and Rescue Service for her bravery during a fire in her home.
The award is one of the highest awards the Service can award to brave children across the county. Grace has been enlisted as the Service’s newest Fire Safety Marshal and has been tasked with sharing her fire safety advice with her family and friends.
In a first for the Service, Grace was presented with the top award on 12 January at South Woodham Ferrers Fire Station. She met some of the firefighters at South Woodham Ferrers Fire Station and had a chance to try the role for herself.
While at home with her dad last summer, Grace ventured into the kitchen and was greeted with a developing fire.
Grace acted quickly and calmly to alert her dad and told him they needed to get out of the house and dial 999.
Crews from South Woodham Ferrers attended and extinguished the fire and praised Grace for her quick actions.
She told firefighters that she had learned what to do from them during a visit to her school earlier in the year.
Grace had remembered the firefighters’ advice on what to do if there is a fire in your home and had acted on it.
Her advice for everyone to remember if there is a fire in your home, is: “If there is a fire in your home, get out and call 999.”
Station Manager Dan Wastell from South Woodham Ferrers Fire Station said: “What Grace’s story highlights is the huge importance of the work undertaken by both our frontline crews and prevention teams in educating our communities of the risks associated with fire.
“In utilising what she had learnt, and in what would have been undoubtedly a very scary situation, Grace’s quick thinking and actions ensured the safety of both herself and her family.
“Grace should be very proud of herself.”
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service works in collaboration with Essex Police to deliver safety advice to schoolchildren across Essex.
The Education Team, firefighters and staff visit school across Essex to give fire, road and water safety advice.
To access the resources the Service uses and to book a visit for your school, visit: www.essex-fire.gov.uk/education
Page last updated 20 January, 2022
