THREE members of Whitby police have been commended for their fast actions following a fire in the town earlier this year.
PCSO Lynne Butler, PC Ian Foley and Sergeant Trish Hope were awarded an Area Commander’s Commendation for their prompt action in co-ordinating and ensuring the safe rescue of residents from the house fire.
On the evening of 19 June, PCSO Butler an
d Sgt Hope were on patrol near The Met in Whitby when reports came in of a house fire in Argyle Road.
Along with PC Foley, the officers attended the scene and despite the acrid smoke, the officers entered the building via a rear window and helped the occupants, one of whom had mobility problems, out of the house to safety through a ground-floor window.
PC Foley then went back into the burning building to remove some gas canisters, preventing the risk of explosion and further risk to the public and the fire service.
The awarding body said that “without the prompt action of all three officers, the occupants could have suffered serious smoke inhalation and injuries or worse”.
Whitby Inspector Dave Barf told the Whitby Gazette he was very proud of his officers’ actions.
He said: “I am very proud of them and I think it shows the people of Whitby that they have dedicated and hard-working individuals serving them to the best of their ability.”
