Fire crew honoured after Elgin rescue
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A CREW of firefighters who rescued an Elgin man in need of urgent medical treatment have been honoured.
The Aberdeen team from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) were called to help safely remove the patient from a house in the Moray town.
They drew upon their specialist training to take out the living room window and a large section of the exterior wall of the house and garden to create a safe pathway out of the property.
The team, who travelled from North Anderson Drive Fire Station in Aberdeen, also worked through challenging weather conditions, including heavy sleet.
Their efforts have earned them recognition at this year’s Brave@Heart ceremony, organised by the Scottish Government, where they were presented with an award from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Watch manager Dennis Chalmers was the SFRS Incident Commander who oversaw the effort that night.
He said: "The weather conditions were really horrible and our crews were met with heavy sleet and wind.
"But we made great progress using specialist equipment to cut away and remove the concrete blocks from below the window area to allow full access after 45 minutes.
"We had members of the crew inside and outside the property to keep the casualty and his family updated throughout the process."
The man was thereafter passed into the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service, while SFRS crews secured the property.
Watch manager Chalmers was joined by crew managers Scott Hamilton and Euan Cargill and firefighters Mike McArthur, Neil Barnett, Ross Moran, Jack Miller, Graham Taylor, Neil McDonald and Raymond Forsyth.
The Brave@Heart awards take place to recognise acts of bravery and heroism across the emergency and voluntary sectors in Scotland, as well as commending members of the public.
