Response Policing Week of Action: Officer dragged man from burning flat

A response officer has spoken about the moment she entered a burning building to save a disabled man’s life.

Police Constable Anya Brown was on patrol in Retford on 10 April this year when she was called to a flat fire in Springfield Road.

PC Brown was the first officer on the scene and after looking through the window could see a man lying on the floor as smoke billowed through the ground floor flat.

She said: “You join the job to help people and when dealing with situations like this you realise the need for quick thinking and positive action, often putting the needs of others first before our own.

“I managed to gain access to the flat and drag the man to the doorway. I then went back into the flat in a bid to put out the fire, however it was too established and the heat too intense. I decided to try control the fire by sealing it in another room as much as I could, but there wasn’t time to reflect and my instinct to preserve life was paramount.”

PC Brown suffered smoke inhalation and needed hospital treatment after the rescue.

She is sharing her experience as part of Response Policing Week of Action - an opportunity to highlight the difficult, demanding, and unpredictable work that response officers and staff do to keep people safe.

Nottinghamshire Police is joining other forces across the country to celebrate the hard work, dedication, and bravery of those who respond to calls from the public and confront criminals daily until 2 July.

PC Brown has been a police officer for ten years and says she loves being on response because of the constantly changing situations which officers face and the range of skills needed in order to be on the front line of policing.

“I like helping people when they need it most,” she said. “It is one of reasons why I joined the force and I really don’t think you can beat it.

“On response you go to a wide range of incidents and you never know what you will be called to next. It is this, coupled with the teamwork within the force, that makes the job so special to me.”

PC Brown is no stranger to stressful situations - she received a Chief Constable’s commendation after talking a man to safety from harming himself in April 2015.

She was praised for her ‘courage and sensitivity when dealing with an armed and volatile man heading to the safe conclusion of the incident’.

PC Brown was deployed to the Leicester riots during the summer of last year and also the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow in November 2021.