A CREW of volunteer fire fighters from Minard have received recognition for the roles they played in rescuing a man from a burning house.
William McShane was trapped in the blaze at 12 Queen Elizabeth Cottages in Furnace on January 24.
The five-man crew from Minard were first on the scene at the well-developed fire, and after entering the house and rescuing Mr McShane, they then carried out first aid and trauma in an attempt to save his life.
Without their efforts, he may have died in the fire.
On Tuesday night, the five local heroes were presented with certificates by Chief Officer Brian Sweeney to commemorate their actions and bravery.
Family, friends, fellow crewmembers and local councillors looked on as crew commander Alastair Galbraith, fire fighters Gail Cook, Ian MacCallum, John Goodwin and David Warwick accepted their awards at a special ceremony at Minard fire station.
This was only the second time in his tenure that the Chief Officer has presented these certificates, and area commander John Ironside and group commander Danny Downie were also in attendance at the event.
Group commander Downie said afterwards: ‘The crew are pleased that their efforts have been acknowledged and in their own words, they were doing their duty to the community at the time of this incident.’
