Concerned for the wellbeing of the occupant, Cody’s father Ray and his mother Jo, rushed over to the house to see if they could help their neighbour, at around 7pm on Thursday 18 March.
Armed with a fire extinguisher, Cody’s mum Jo urged her son to dial 999 and ask for the fire service which he did with remarkable maturity and calmness, providing all the necessary information required by Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.
As a result of his swift actions, crews from Watford, Garston and Rickmansworth were soon on the scene and fighting the fierce fire which had started in the living room on the ground floor. Fortunately, the resident was not at home at the time of the fire and was safely accounted for later on.
Praising Cody, Hertfordshire County Council’s Director of Community Protection and Chief Fire Officer, Darryl Keen said: “Cody showed incredible presence of mind while making a 999 call to us, during what would have been an extremely frightening incident for all concerned.
“His superb skills when making the call showed a maturity beyond his years and impressed us with how calmly he listened and answered our questions in what was a potentially life-threatening situation.
“He was able to provide us with an address and exactly what had happened so far, what he could see and that both his mum and dad had gone to help but were away from the fire. Under the pressures of an emergency such as this we have many callers who find it difficult to relay this information accurately, but Cody was amazing. He should be extremely proud of himself.”
Cody was presented with a Certificate of Excellence from Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service Control Room at his school this week – St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Harrow.
Cody said: “I was really worried about the fire, but I was being brave and wanted to get help. I called the emergency services and asked for the fire brigade. I told them where to come and that there was a big fire. I was a bit scared, but I stayed calm.”
Cody’s proud mum Jo said: “We were all panicking, apart from Cody really! He just took it all in his stride – he knew where to direct them and explained what was going on. It’s the first time he’s ever had to deal with anything like that before. We’ve always made him aware of what to do in an emergency, but he’s never had to put it into practice until that night.”
“He was really calm. When I came back a few minutes later, he was still on the phone – and was still chatting to them and telling them what was going on. We were really, really proud of him that night, so proud of him.”
Mrs Peterson, who also has a two year-old daughter Ivy, soon realised the fire extinguisher she was carrying would have been no use whatsoever, due to the severity of the fire. Concerned for their neighbour, who rarely goes out at night, husband Ray broke through the front door but could see the fire was raging in the living-room.
Fire crews extinguished the fire using two hose reels and four sets of breathing apparatus, while neighbours carried out a local search for the resident who was luckily found safe and well around an hour after the accidental fire broke out.
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