Off-duty South Yorkshire firefighter presented with bravery award

Crew Manager Paul Holbrook, who works for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, was off duty when he ended up stuck in a queue of standing traffic following a three-vehicle collision on the northbound M18.

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The collision in September last year saw a driver thrown from one of the cars and left his passenger trapped in the vehicle – which was overturned.

Paul, who was on a day out with his family, ran to the crash scene and after identifiying a serious petrol leak took charge of the incident.

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He assessed the woman trapped in the overturned car and moved her to a place of safety, providing casualty care until emergency services arrived.

He was able to provide a full handover and continued to help all three blue light services at the scene. 

Presenting Paul with a Chief Fire Officer’s Commendation, Chief Fire Officer James Courtney said: “It is quite clear that in doing what he did Crew Manager Holbrook displayed bravery and complete selflessness.

“He went forward to help when he had the option not to – displaying the true values of the fire and rescue service.

“The on-duty Watch Manager, who took over the scene from Paul, has since praised his quick thinking and his actions – which stopped the incident from escalating and, most importantly, potentially saved this lady’s life.”

Paul was presented with hiscertificate in front of family, friends, colleagues and Fire Authority members.