Family pulled from car crash by CEO of new Lossiemouth bridge company – using Gordonstoun School fire training
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A FORMER Gordonstoun student, and boss of the firm behind Lossiemouth's new bridge, pulled a family from a crashed car using his skills from being in the school's fire service.
Henry Beaver (45) was in the Gordonstoun Fire Service while a pupil at the school. Established during the Second World War, the team of student firefighters is the only one in the UK. Seeing action at many scenes across local area, at just 17 he attended a car crash near Elgin which saw a woman and her child hospitalised with serious injuries.
However, decades later and now living in England, Mr Beaver was driving with his wife when the car in front veered off the road -flipping into a six foot ditch. He immediately pulled over, went into the ditch and pulled the woman and her children out to safety. Meanwhile his wife Jo, whom he met while at Gordonstoun, stopped traffic and called the emergency services.
Mr Beaver, founder of Beaver Bridges who designed and built the replacement bridge toLossiemouth's East Beach, said: "When I saw the woman's car veer off the road my reaction was just instinctive. The fire training at Gordonstoun just kicked in. "The woman and her children were obviously in a state of shock, but thankfully they were okay, although understandably shaken up.
It was lucky my wife and I were so close by to help."
Gordonstoun Principal Lisa Kerr said: "All of our senior school students volunteer in one of nine community and rescue services at Gordonstoun. This training teaches our young people to remain calm in the face of an emergency. "Henry is a fantastic example of how that training remains ingrained in the character of our former students.
Thankfully, his training kicked in and this family is safe and well after such a terrible ordeal."
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