A True Life Saving Hero

As the old saying goes – “Prevention is better than cure.”

At SFS FIRE we truly believe this and that’s why we offer reliable fire protection services to our commercial and industrial clients.

However, there are sometimes occasions where accidents and unfortunate incidents do just happen. It is at those times that we are grateful to have the dedicated and brave men and women of the emergency services, who go above and beyond to help others in times of crisis.

We are especially proud to have such a person in our family. While we do our bit to help prevent such incidents here in the UK – Taryn Kirk (nee Smyth) is fighting fires and saving lives – over the pond – in the USA.

Taryn, who is direct family of SFS FIRE management, was recently honoured with the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department’s Life Saving Award for her valiant efforts in saving the life of a man who was overcome by the smoke in a blazing apartment.

The incident occurred in the early hours of the morning after Taryn’s squad, Engine 3, was despatched to a structure fire. Upon discovering a hallway filled with smoke, Taryn and a colleague forced entry into the apartment and after finding the unconscious tenant, extricated him and made an exhaustive rescue – carrying the victim down six stories to the awaiting medics, who provided further medical assistance.  The victim made a full recovery thanks to their valiant efforts.

The award was presented to Taryn by the Toledo Fire & Rescue Department’s Awards and Recognition Committee, which consists of fellow firefighters.

Commenting on the award, Taryn says:” I was extremely honoured to receive this award alongside my partner. But we we’re really just a small part of the effort. I have found that in this profession you are never really alone, you always have more firefighters than you can count to have your back.

It started with our initial crew on scene, to those that helped us carry him down the stairs, to the quick actions of the awaiting paramedics, to the rapid transport to the hospital and the doctors there. And while all this is going in the additional crews that we’re doing fire suppression. It’s all part of one picture and one big family that you can count on.”

Well done Taryn, you make us proud.