An eight-year-old girl who bravely spoke to 999 when her baby brother was badly burned by a hot cup of tea has been reunited with the call handler who spoke to her.
Farah Alim-Palmer took over the 999 call as her mother attended to her brother Gabriel who had been badly burned by scalding tea in February in London.
In recognition of her maturity and courage, Farah was invited to visit London Ambulance Service HQ to meet the staff who helped her family, and was awarded a special certificate recognising her actions.
During the visit, Farah and her siblings Gabriel and Anouk, sat in an ambulance, sat on a specialised London Ambulance motorcycle and tried on the paramedic’s helmet.
She said: “I absolutely loved visiting London Ambulance and couldn’t believe how special they made it for me.
“It was really interesting to see the inside of the ambulance and the computer where the driver could see all the information I had given. When I got my certificate, I had a very special feeling.”
Farah was invited to the LAS’ Waterloo HQ alongside six-year-old Anouk, two-year-old Gabriel, her mother Nadja and father Scott, where they met Emergency Call Coordinator Matthew Hawkins who took the call, as well as paramedics who attended on the day.
Recollecting the day two-year-old Gabriel was hurt, Farah said: “I was in the kitchen waiting for my mum to brew the tea before we were going to read together when I heard a big smash.
“I turned around and saw my brother Gabi crying and crying. I felt panicked.”
She added: “My mum ran up to the bathroom with Gabi. I stepped around the broken tea cup and ran up to the bathroom where my mum was showering Gabi’s burns and she handed me the phone.
“I felt excited as I had never talked to an ambulance person before, but I wasn’t sure what to say. But then it all came to me because the person on the phone made me feel really calm and safe.
“Suddenly I knew what to say. He asked me questions about my brother and told me what to do. I told him my address, my house number and our postcode. I felt like he trusted me and I trusted him.”
Her amazing act of bravery also featured in the latest episode of BBC Ambulance.
Call handler Matthew said he was “delighted” to meet Farah and her family.
He said: “She was extremely brave and it was lovely to meet her in person. There’s a good handful of calls that I will never forget and this is one of them because of how brave, engaging and helpful Farah was.”
Her parents also paid tribute to her bravery.
Nadja said: “On the day of the accident she was incredibly focused and able to listen clearly to the questions she was asked.
“She gave precise information to get the help we needed quickly. I was utterly amazed by her focus, calm attitude and to say I’m very proud is an understatement.”
