Guernsey Fire and Rescue

Guernsey Fire and Rescue has been nominated for Emergency Hero of the Year

The Fire and Rescue crew has been nominated for the Emergency Hero award for its work at the fire at Octopus restaurant.

The 15-strong crew used 3000 litres of water every minute throughout the incident, which started at around 4am in February.

‘Octopus was an absolute icon of the island with its beautiful views of Havelet Bay and Castle Cornet from its perch at La Vallette,’ said their nominator, who wishes to remain anonymous.

‘Pictures of that restaurant going up flames rocked the island community, but also created a great deal of pride seeing our firefighters who put their lives on the line.

‘They’re prepared to do that every day, and you can never put it down to them “just doing their job”. 

‘The dangers they face are just countless. The roof could come down on them at any second, the smoke clouds all visibility, they could get trapped.

‘Now, more and more is coming out about the long-term dangers they’re inhaling, ingesting all types of chemicals in the smoke – what kinds of gases they dealt with in a restaurant I couldn’t begin to imagine.

‘They deserve recognition for all their courage and cool-headedness in dealing with such a high-profile incident.’

Other Finalists