Wimborne man honoured by fire service for rescuing woman
Edward Bryant helped her to safety from the River Stour
A Wimborne man's been honoured by Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service for saving a woman's life.
Edward Bryant was walking his dog, when Reggie alerted him to a woman in the River Stour.
Edward called a neighbour to bring a ladder to the scene, and entered the water to help her onto the bank, while firefighters were on their way.
A Chief Fire Officer's commendation has been passed on to Mr Bryant, at the brigade's annual award ceremony.
On-call crew support honoured
During the same night, two Dorset organisations were recognised for their support of on-call firefighters.
HMP Portland and Sherborne Girls’ School received awards from DWFRS.
The prison has released staff for fire calls over many years and is the employer of Daniel Terrey, station commander at Portland fire station; while the school allows two members of staff to respond to fire calls from work.
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Andy Cole said:
“These awards are very well deserved. These two employers have allowed our firefighters time for training and provided flexibility in working hours. In return, the staff have used their knowledge and expertise in areas such as fire marshal duties, first aid, and guidance with risk assessments. The communities of Portland and Sherborne have benefited greatly from their support of their local fire stations.
“If someone is interested in becoming an on-call firefighter, they should look at our website to see whether there’s an on-call fire station near to where they live or work, then get in touch with us to have a chat about what’s possible. The main things are that people are enthusiastic, want to work as part of a team, and want to be part of their community.”
Long service awards handed out
The event also recognised staff at DWFRS achieving 20, 30 and even 40 years of public service.
Chief Fire Officer Ben Ansell said:
“We have a Service to be proud of, and the awards ceremony is one way in which we celebrate the dedication of staff from across the organisation. We serve an area encompassing the local authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole, Dorset, Swindon and Wiltshire, and our people deliver outstanding work across our prevention, protection, emergency response and corporate functions.
“As well as honouring the achievements of our staff, it is always an opportunity to give personal thanks to the families and friends who have supported them and the work of our Service. We also recognise the on-call employers who are so essential to us being able to provide our emergency response. It is often this support that has enabled the quite outstanding achievements to take place.”