Fifteen-year-old Jack Palmer was at home one Saturday afternoon in December when he was called into action to help save his next-door neighbour Tony’s life.
Noticing something was wrong, Tony’s daughter Hatty called 999 and initiated CPR, whilst his wife Elaine, went to source a defibrillator, which neighbour Jack quickly found.
Jack rushed to the patient with the defibrillator, helped set it up and followed its instructions, delivering the first shock before taking over CPR from an exhausted Hatty.
Elaine administered a second shock prior to the arrival of on-call firefighters from Alton.
The crew continued treatment at the Holybourne home, before the casualty was passed into the care of paramedics and taken onto hospital.
Thanks to Jack’s intervention, his neighbour was home for Christmas and set to make a full recovery.
The Alton team commended Jack on his heroic actions and welcomed him and his mum to the station as a thank you, before being presented with a Chief’s commendation award by Assistant Chief Fire Officer Ben Allen.
Tony was also there on Tuesday night along with his family and Jack’s headteacher.
Watch Manager Josh Grant, Alton Fire Station, said:
“Jack’s actions undoubtedly helped save his neighbour’s life, and we want to ensure he gets the recognition he deserves.
“It is important that we highlight role models in our communities such as Jack, an incredible 15-year-old, who dropped everything to support someone who needed help.”
Alton is crewed by on-call firefighters who live and work in the local area, responding to the station to ride the fire engine when alerted.
If you think you can help make life safer in your community like Jack and the Alton team, why not reach out to your local station and find out if becoming an on-call firefighter is for you?
