4-year-old Staffs boy receives commendation

A four-year-old boy has received a special commendation from our Chief Fire Officer for alerting us to a neighbour’s kitchen fire after he smelt smoke while playing outside.

Oliver Nugent, from Cheslyn Hay, had been playing in the back garden of his home when he smelt smoke coming from a nearby property at around 5.45pm on 13 September.

Quick-thinking Oliver ran to tell his dad what he could smell and said he thought someone might need help.

His dad then spotted smoke coming from a neighbour’s home and called us to attend.

We sent three crews to the scene and found that a gas cooker and carpet tiles had been involved in a fire, which was fortunately out when crews arrived.

Thankfully, no one was reported hurt and the occupants were checked over at the scene.

The home was lightly smoke-logged, so fire crews worked to ventilate the home and isolated the gas and electric supply before making the property safe.

As a result of his actions, Oliver was presented with his commendation by Chief Fire Officer, Rob Barber, at Cannock Community Fire Station earlier this month.

He was also given a tour of the station.

Chief Fire Officer, Rob Barber, said: “Thanks to Oliver’s keen sense of smell and his awareness of the dangers smoke often represents, he was able to quickly tell his dad about what was worrying him.

“His alertness and quick-thinking could have made a significant difference to this incident, had it escalated.

“I would like to commend Oliver for his impressive actions and give a special mention to his dad for taking his concerns seriously and letting us know what was happening straight away.”

Oliver’s dad, Ryan Nugent, aged 35, who is a quality engineer, said: “I’m so proud that he was able to see a problem and knew what to do and came straight to us.

“You don’t expect someone of Oliver’s age to know what to do or to make the connection necessarily that smoke means fire.

“His Mum Sarah, who is a nursery manager, has been really good in teaching him about safety and the school has as well, so I think that’s where he got his understanding of where smoke comes from and how he knew what to do.”

Speaking of Oliver’s experience on 4 December, Ryan added: “He’s always been interested in industrial and agricultural vehicles, tractors are his favourite but fire engines are a close second!

“He was a bit overwhelmed with everyone there and all the vehicles but once it had calmed down he really engaged and loved to learn about what firefighters do and how the equipment works.

“He’s usually such a shy boy but we’re so proud that on the day of the fire, he persevered and got us to check on our neighbours.”

Anyone concerned about preventing fires in the home should visit: Your Safety.