Two Staffordshire Police Federation members have been presented with the Force’s Excellence in Bravery Award after saving a woman from a house during a fire.
Police constable Emily Gabbott, who had recently passed her probation at the time of the incident and student officer Josh Taylor were recognised at the recent Force Awards thanks to their quick-decision making.
Despite the house quickly filling up with smoke - and with other emergency services over 10 minutes away - the brave duo put their own lives at risk by forcing entry into the home and bringing the unconscious woman to safety.
“I think I speak on behalf of Emily when I say there was absolutely no question in our minds as to whether we would get into that house or not,” said 26-year-old Josh.
“Knowing there was a woman at risk in there, there was no way we were going to just stand there and wait for support from other patrols and our fellow emergency service teams.”
The pair described how they could see smoke coming out of a window upstairs as soon as they pulled up to the house.
“We received a call about the incident and fortunately we were two minutes away,” recalled Emily, who explained that the woman had locked all of the doors and windows downstairs, making it almost impossible to enter without force.
“Josh got the battering ram and I went round the back to see if I could get in. Our job, as police officers, is to preserve life and that is exactly what we set out to do.”
Fortunately one of the house’s back windows was opening, allowing Emily to enter.
She continued: “When I got into the room, the woman was unconscious and her body was blocking the door. The bedroom was full of smoke, I could feel it immediately in my throat.”
Within minutes, Josh had also followed Emily’s route and joined her. Together they quickly moved the women downstairs to safety, before a colleague arrived to help.
“I was paranoid there were more people - specifically children - in the house, so I went back in. I know I shouldn’t have done that but I needed to know there weren’t kids in there,” added Emily.
There were no other people in the house and the woman has since made a full recovery.
“I don’t think it really hit us, what we’d done, until after the incident,” said Emily.
The pair admitted they were both ‘surprised’ to hear they had been nominated for an award, with Emily and Josh agreeing: “We were just doing our job.”
Emily continued: “It’s nice to be recognised, especially this early in service. We were both very proud.”
Emily and Josh were presented their award by Staffordshire Police Chief Constable Chris Noble.
Josh ended: “The award ceremony was quite overwhelming and emotional. You felt a huge sense of pride, it was an amazing evening.”
