Stone student firefighter Harry Alcock was honoured at Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s MORE Awards for his bravery and quick thinking when a fire broke out at a neighbour’s property.
Harry won the Young Person of the Year Award, sponsored by Newcastle-under-Lyme College, after he managed to get a group of children to safety and alert the fire service when a fire broke out in his neighbour’s property last year.
Harry – who lives in Uttoxeter but travels to Stone fire station every Friday evening for his student firefigher duties – was helping his mum look after his younger sister and some of her friends when he saw smoke coming over his garden fence.
He immediately told his mum to call 999 and told her what to say to fire control operators while he went back into his house to get the children out.
He quickly led five children aged between three and 10 to safety, not even allowing them time to put on their shoes, and then began knocking on neighbours’ doors to get them out of their houses.
He was just 12 at the time and his actions were described as “very brave and beyond his years”.
Harry was delighted with his award and said: “I’m really surprised to have won. I thought it would have been one of the other two. I definitely want to be a firefighter in the future so I’m really pleased to have this award.”
Harry’s mum Kathryn Alcock said last year: “We are immensely proud of Harry, his actions were well above his years and he potentially saved numerous lives that day.
I’d always thought of the student firefighters as Harry’s secret world but on the day of the fire I saw first-hand what Harry is capable of and what he has learnt.”
