The Russian Government
Anna Shpenova, a firefighter of fire station No 2 in Saint-Petersburg was awarded today an Emergencies Ministry medal “For the Courage during a Fire”. The 32-year-old Anna, the only woman firefighter, displayed valor and courage and risked her own life to save two women from a fire.
On 21 November 2014, fire station No 2 got a fire call. On arrival the firefighters learned that 20 square meters were burning on the third floor of a 5-floor administrative building.
There were two women inside, who could not get out. The officer in charged assessed the situation and decided to send smoke divers to rescue the women.
When the firefighters got on the third floor through a stairway, they found that the corridor was cut off by the flames. That hampered their further penetration, but despite the flames the rescuers moved on along the burning corridor to find the women.
Sergeant of internal service Anna Shpenova found one of the women with signs of carbon monoxide inhalation in one of the offices filled with thick smoke. She put a rescue means on her, covered the woman with her own body, evacuated in safe area and passed her to firefighters. After that Anna returned to the building on fire and got into offices that were not accessible before due to high temperature. In the far end of the office she found the second woman. Again she put a rescue means on her, covered the woman with her own body, took her outside and handed her over to firefighters.
