A police officer has been praised after his “absolutely selfless” actions helped save a man’s life.
Sergeant Ethan Spinks was dealing with a matter in Sneinton when three people approached him and alerted him to a fire inside a nearby building.
The Response officer was told the fire was on the first floor of a multi-occupancy property and that people were inside sleeping, as it was just after 6am.
With no thought for his own safety, Sgt Spinks rushed inside and began knocking on doors in an attempt to evacuate every flat inside the building, along Sneinton Hermitage.
Where there was no response, he kicked doors down to check no-one was inside any of the flat. This led to one man being woken and safely evacuated.
Sgt Spinks then carried on upstairs to the flat where the fire had broken out. By now the smoke had thickened and it was becoming more difficult for him to breathe.
Despite this, he tried kicking down the door to the flat (pictured) after being told there was a resident inside.
At this point, firefighters arrived and asked Sgt Spinks to withdraw for his own safety. But rather than leave immediately, he held a door open so a hose could be fed through to the burning flat.
The fire crew went on to rescue a man from inside the flat, while Sgt Spinks assisted with road closures outside and providing updates to the Nottinghamshire Police control room.
Recalling the incident on 22 March, Sgt Spinks said:
“A short time later I saw a male being carried out unconscious and covered in black soot. I was very relieved to see that within a few minutes of first aid he was sitting up.
“The most important thing is that he is alive. I have always taken immense pride in being a police officer and I am always prepared to put the safety of the public first.”
Chief Inspector Anwaar Ahmed, of Nottinghamshire Police, praised Sgt Spinks’ dedication to protecting the public. He said:
“I have viewed the body worn footage and it is clear Sgt Spinks has been absolutely selfless in his actions to save a life.
“He entered the building knowing there was a fire somewhere, checked as many rooms as he could to identify the source of the fire and evacuated the building.
“Thankfully, the fire service arrived and were able to safely resolve the situation.
“When faced with critical situations, quick decisions need to be made and that sometimes results in officers putting themselves in harm’s way.
“Sgt Spinks therefore deserves tremendous credit for providing an outstanding service to the public by doing his best in a very challenging situation.”
