Heroic off-duty firefighter gives first-aid to man at scene of serious …

Sam Hogwood, who is an on-call firefighter at Coggeshall Fire Station, put his first aid training into practice when he helped a man at a road traffic collision on the A120 earlier this month.

The A120 near Marks Tey came to a halt for more than five hours on Monday, July 10, following a crash involving a lorry and a car.

Essex Police officers attended the scene at about midday and immediately closed off the road, resulting in queues of traffic near to Poplar Nurseries.

The East of England Ambulance Service sent a Hazardous Area Response Team, two ambulances and an ambulance officer response vehicle.

The Essex and Herts Air Ambulance was also called into action, as were firefighters who helped support paramedics while they assisted casualties.

As a result of the crash, the driver of the car sustained potentially life-changing injuries, while the HGV driver sustained minor injuries.

Both motorists were taken to hospital for further treatment.

Sam, who manages a pet food shop by day, was on his way to work on when he was caught in the traffic.

When he got nearer the scene, he saw the crash before pulling over and rushing to see if everyone was ok, where he found a man with multiple injuries.

Without hesitation, Sam identified himself as an on-call firefighter and started giving first aid to the injured man while waiting for ambulance colleagues.

Fire and ambulance crews arrived shortly after and thanked Sam for his efforts before working to free the man.

Sam, who joined Essex County Fire and Rescue Service seven months ago, said: “I felt I did what anyone else in the Service would have done in my position.

“The training I received from the fire service has given me the confidence I needed to help in this situation.”

If you live or work within five minutes of an on-call fire station, you could be paid to protect your community like Sam.

Find out more about the role at join.essex-fire.gov.uk/on-call/.