Fire rescue PCs honoured at Police Bravery Awards

18 July 2022

Two Hertfordshire police officers who saved the life of a disabled man badly burned in a flat fire have been honoured at the national Police Bravery Awards in London.

PCs Ashley Crowe and Matthew Henry-Randell and their respective partners,  Ruby and Rebecca, joined fellow nominees from across the country at a Downing Street reception hosted by Home Secretary Priti Patel who praised their “incredible courage”.

They then attended the awards presentation ceremony at a central London hotel later that evening where they were accompanied by Al Wollaston, secretary of Hertfordshire Police Federation, Hertfordshire Chief Constable Charlie Hall and Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Lewis Cocking.

In the incident for which they were commended, a man was fighting for his life after receiving significant burns in the fire when PCs Crowe and Henry-Randell arrived on the scene.

They stayed “calm and professional as chaos occurred around them” to initially carry the man away from the fire before giving him life-saving CPR.

The officers were on duty when the incident happened last year in Cheshunt.

Ashley (left) and Matt with their partners Ruby and Rebecca.

Firefighters were already on the scene when the officers arrived to find two vulnerable people were inside the property, which was well alight. A woman was rescued via a fourth-floor window, but the man was still inside the block and severely injured.

PC Henry-Randell, who has served Hertfordshire Police for three years, said: “I ran up the two flights of stairs to get to the firefighter and the victim, who was on the floor badly burnt and clearly not breathing.”

The officers carried the man down a flight of stairs and took it in turns to give him CPR.

PC Crowe, who has been an officer for five years, said: “He didn’t have a pulse and wasn’t breathing. We carried on with CPR until we had help to carry him out of the burning building to the grass area outside the flats.”

A defibrillator was used to resuscitate the man before he was taken by air ambulance to hospital. The officers then registered all of the residents to ensure no one else was still in the building before helping with road closures.

Their actions have already been recognised with a Chief Constable’s Commendation.

Hertfordshire Police Federation secretary Al Wollaston said the officers fully deserved recognition for their bravery.

He said: “I was incredibly proud to accompany our two nominees to the awards ceremony. They showed tremendous courage and determination throughout this incident and they should be very proud of themselves.

“The bravery awards is always a terrific event for the police family because it highlights and celebrates some of the extraordinary acts of courage carried out by our members.”

Speaking at the Downing Street reception, Ms Patel told the nominees: “I am delighted to be able to celebrate with you, once again, the incredible courage of a remarkable group of police officers.

“Your work involves an extraordinary degree of sacrifice that should never be taken for granted. These awards play an important part in ensuring your deeds are recognised.

“I would like to thank the organisers of the 2022 awards, the Police Federation, and Police Mutual for their continued support for the event.”

The officers also received warm praise and a message of thanks from Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

He said: “These acts of bravery, honoured here today by your colleagues and the public, are outstanding and in the finest traditions of policing. I salute each and every one of the fantastic nominees at the awards. You are truly the best of the very best.

“It is absolutely right and proper that we honour and celebrate the work of our brave men and women in uniform who work day in and day out to protect the public.

“The progress we are making towards recruiting 20,000 more officers gives me full confidence that together we will make our streets safer. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.”

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Police Federation national chair Steve Hartshorn said: “Tonight, we heard extraordinary stories of bravery, selflessness and acts of courage that are not just part of the job.

“The bravery shown by these nominees is truly outstanding. From putting their own lives at risk to save others, facing violent attackers and terrifying weapons, to rescuing people from perilous situations in fast flowing water or stranded hundreds of feet in the air, they have faced danger head on.”

The annual bravery awards are organised by the Police Federation and sponsored by Police Mutual.

This year’s overall winner was Lincolnshire Police’s PC Steven Denniss who was stabbed as he tackled a double murder suspect he has spotted while off duty and out walking his dogs.