A response officer has opened up about the moment she entered a burning building to save a disabled man's life. On April 10, 2023, Police Constable Anya Brown was on patrol in Retford when she was called to a flat fire on Springfield Road.
She was the first officer on the scene, and after looking through a window she could see a man lying on the floor as smoke billowed through the ground floor flat. PC Brown stated: "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.
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"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.” She suffered smoke inhalation and needed hospital treatment after the rescue.
PC Brown has been a police officer for ten years and explained she loves being on response because of the constantly changing situations which officers face, as well as the range of skills needed in order to be on the front line of policing. She said: "I like helping people when they need it most.
"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, and in April 2015 she received a Chief Constable’s commendation after talking a man to safety from harming himself.
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 also deployed to the Leicester riots during the summer of last year and also to the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow in November 2021.
