TWO heroic officers from Chelmsford are to receive a top national bravery award after they saved the lives of two elderly women.<\/p>\n
PCs Paul Barry and Paul Downes will receive Royal Humane Society Testimonial on Vellum\u00a0 – personally approved and signed by Princess Alexandra, president of the society.<\/p>\n
The officers risked their own lives in the incident, which took place in December last year.<\/p>\n
PCs Barry and Downes arrived at the blazing building in Humber Road, Chelmsford, in response to an emergency call. They were there before the fire-service arrived and decided to force their way in to try and save anyone inside<\/p>\n
When the pair forced the door open, PCs Barry and Downes were met by a wall of thick smoke which thinned out towards the floor. They could hear the sound of fire from the kitchen which was next to the stairs.<\/p>\n
Both officers went into the property on their hands and knees, shut the kitchen door and called out. They received a response from upstairs and went up. Visibility was down to just one foot but they found the two elderly ladies and managed to escort them out of the building – saving their lives.<\/p>\n
Dick Wilkinson, secretary of the Royal Humane Society, said: \u201cIt takes incredible courage to go into a burning building. Anything can go wrong. But these two officers didn\u2019t hesitate to take the chance and as a result they saved these two ladies from possibly being burned to death or choking to death. They richly deserve the awards they are to receive.\u201d<\/p>\n
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