TWO firefighters have received special recognition after thinking on their feet to help bring a man living with dementia to safety.

Watch manager Steve Faircloth and crew manager Jonathon Vincent, both of Burnham Fire Station, won a special performance recognition award from the fire service for their efforts,

The pair were travelling into Chelmsford to take part in a training exercise when they noticed an elderly man walking along a busy road on the outskirts of city.

After stopping to check on the man’s welfare they both felt there were possibly some issues, so they gently tried to seek a little more information.

Using their training as ‘dementia friends’ - an Alzheimer’s Society initiative which gives people an insight into living with dementia and learning how to engage with people - a call was made to the fire service’s control room with details and a description of the man.

They gained his trust before following the Herbert Protocol - an early intervention and risk reduction scheme to help find vulnerable people who are at risk of going missing.

Following this, the man was then escorted to a place of safety and the firefighters stayed with him until the police arrived.

Karen Nicoll, Burnham Fire Station’s manager, said: “The actions of Steve and Jon demonstrated how they both put their training as Dementia Friends into action, with the best possible outcome.

“The man living with dementia, was confused and unsafe wandering out on his own, with cars passing at high speed and the actions of Steve and Jon in a Covid safe manner prevented a possible accident and led to a safe outcome.

“It’s a great achievement to gain the award and be recognised by our Service, well done to them both.”