Milton Keynes police officers commended for their work

PC David Smith and PC Philip Bramham-Jones received the commendations from Chief Constable Francis Habgood at a ceremony on Thursday.

In March this year the two officers responded to a report of an explosion at a property in Fishermead.

They arrived within two minutes of the call where flames could be seen inside a house through the front window.

A fire had broken out in the kitchen, and PC Bramham-Jones attempted to force the front door open, but was unable.

The fire and ambulance services were en route, and there was no gated access to the rear of the property, so PC Smith had to climb a 10ft fence to access it.

PC Smith was able to see a man on the floor inside the property, but was unable to get him out due to the flames.

He and PC Braham-Jones used their vehicle’s powder fire extinguisher to put out the fire by the door, and were able to access the kitchen, and put out the fire around the man.

The two officers pulled the man from the kitchen into the garden in order to administer first aid, but sadly he had died.

By this time, the fire service had arrived, and started their operation, at which point it was identified that a woman was upstairs inside the property.

PC Smith managed to communicate with her as the fire service rescued her. As she was leaving the property, PC Smith pulled a curtain from a rail in order to cover the deceased man and shield him from her view.

PCs Smith and Bramham-Jones acted in the best traditions of the police service in an attempt to save both lives.

They were selfless, brave, objective and professional, and while they were not successful in saving the man, their actions prevented serious injury to the woman who was still inside while the kitchen was on fire.

“We are very grateful to be recognised by the Chief Constable for the work we have done beyond our normal duties,” said PC Bramham-Jones.

“It was a very challenging and fast moving situation that required us to put other people’s safety before our own.

“We worked hard to gain entry to the house, and were able to get the woman out safely and to extinguish the fire, using equipment from our vehicle.

“It was very sad that despite our best efforts, we were unable to save the man.”