Shropshire’s High Sheriff was in the driving seat to see at first hand how firefighters rescue victims of county road crashes when she was cut free from the wreckage of a car.

The Deputy Lieutenant for Shropshire, who was appointed High Sheriff in April, volunteered for “the hot seat” to highlight the importance of Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service in the community and Road Safety Week later this month.

Shropshire firefighters in a mock exercise to practise their skills

Shropshire’s High Sheriff will literally be in the driving seat to see at first hand how firefighters rescue victims of county road crashes when she herself is cut free from the wreckage of a car at the weekend.

Shropshire firefighter Stuart Rushton from Telford Central fire station talks to Central TV news reporter Sally Lockwood today (Monday)

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service transmitted its fire safety messages about the importance of smoke alarms far and wide with the help of the local media.

A team of 10 Shropshire firefighters used a safety line and ladder to pull a woman to safety after she fell down a gaping 30ft hole which opened up as a garden path collapsed under her shortly after 1pm yesterday.

The woman had to hang on to tree roots after she fell as she took rubbish out to the bin at the home of a client she was visiting when the ground opened up beneath her.
Carer Jayne Arnel, a mother-of-four, fell 6ft on to a small ledge above an old well running underneath the garden and used her mobile phone to call for help.

As temperatures start to plunge, Shropshire householders are being urged to get their chimneys swept to avoid the high number of chimney fires recorded last winter.

Firefighters have attended an average of one chimney fire every two days over the past couple of years with most being avoidable, said a community fire safety officer.

Damage ranges from smoke logging in a living room similar to a “black spray gun attack” to flames destroying the house roof, said Rabinder Dhami, of Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service.