An off-duty firefighter from Stansted Fire Station put their first aid training into action to help an injured teenage girl.

Keegan Johnson - who works as a dispenser in a pharmacy in addition to their role as an on-call firefighter - was settling in for the evening on Thursday, June 22 when they heard a teenager crying and screaming in the street.

Rushing to the window, they saw a girl with a heavily bleeding hand, grabbed a first aid kit and raced outside to help.

Keegan said: "I took her to the side of the road and calmed her down where I could see she had a deep cut from her thumb to her wrist.

"I comforted her and said I was a firefighter and that I was trained to help.

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"She was bleeding quite heavily and we quickly used most of my first aid kit but thankfully lots of people had stopped and several of them brought first aid kits from their car.

"It was great to see the community coming together without hesitation to help, one person ran to the shop to get some water and sweets for the girl.

"After cutting her hand on some glass, it was bleeding quite heavily which can be really scary to see.

"My training and instincts just took over and I had found some butterfly stitches in my first aid kit.

"Once I’d cleaned the wound up and put antiseptic on it, I used the stitches on her. I told her to check it in the morning and to seek medical advice if she was worried or if it got infected."

The pair then headed to the fire station for a cup of tea while the girl waited to be picked up. 

Keegan was given first aid training as part of their role as an on-call firefighter, after joining Stansted Fire Station at the age of 19.

They said: "I will always strive to help in anyway I can and being a firefighter has truly changed my perspective on life for the better."

To find out more about Keegan's role, go to https://join.essex-fire.gov.uk/on-call/.