Around this time last year, Durham Reds responded to a Special Service incident in Durham City Centre, which involved a man wanting to end his life.
Our crews were there to assist police with their working at height capability. However, against standard protocol, firefighter Gary Cutmore took it upon himself to speak to the male one on one.
Gary, who also volunteers for The Men's Shed, a male mental health group, was instrumental in changing the thought process of the gentleman, by sharing a personal account of his own struggles with mental health.
We can only imagine how difficult this was for Gary, but he showed great courage by drawing upon his own personal experience, and with the help of the police negotiator managed to talk the man down.
Since the incident, we recently received a call from the gentleman who explained that although it’s a year on, he thought now was the right time to call and say thank you for everything the fire service did that day to help him.
He was very particular about FireFighter Gary. He made it very clear that Gary had said some things to him that made him change his mind and made him step down. He also said that he is in a much better place and is in work and enjoying his life.
Chief Fire officer Stuart Errington visited Gary earlier today to award him a Chief Fire Officers Commendation for his heroic actions and commented, “We cannot even put into words how proud and thankful we are to have a person like Gary working for us. Not only did he save a mans life that day, but he has also shown us, it’s okay not to be okay.”
