Shropshire firefighters put their lives “on the line” for his sister – and in return Sam Smith has now joined their ranks and become a retained firefighter at Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Sam was just 18-years-old when he was forced to jump out of a top floor bedroom window as fire rampaged through his Shrewsbury home. He broke his back in the fall and probably would not have survived if he hadn’t jumped.

A young Shropshire mum was today reunited with the fire control operator whose calm voice over the phone helped save her family’s life when they were trapped in the bedroom of their blazing home.

Estelle Guest (24) got to thank Watch Manager Sandra Davies in person when she made a visit to Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service’s control room at the Shrewsbury fire HQ.

Shropshire fundraisers who collected more than £10,000 to fund a county charity mission to send much needed fire engines to Romania have been praised for their efforts by Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Hundreds of people from across the county held car washes, cake sales, dress down days and auctions while sports clubs held bucket collections to raise the cash which will send four fire engines and a team of 14 volunteers to Romania next week.

Their efforts will help replace “outmoded and cumbersome” equipment and “save lives.”

Shropshire firefighters are well prepared for more calls in the wake of further flooding after experiencing one of their busiest days of the year.

Fire control in Shrewsbury was bombarded with calls on Monday as firefighters from across the county dealt with incidents ranging from people trapped in cars, elderly residents needing to be freed from their homes and numerous animal rescues.

With the recent heavy rain, motorists across West Mercia are being warned about the dangers of attempting to drive through standing water. Some areas throughout the region are suffering from localised flooding following persistent rain overnight and the Met Office is still advising people within the Midlands area to ‘be prepared’ with further rainfall falling throughout today.