Sellafield Ltd

Joe's quick-thinking averts office blaze

A SELLAFIELD contract cleaner has been rewarded by his employers, Mitie, after his quick thinking and dedication to duty prevented a fire.

Joe Savage reacted when he heard a plug beginning to spark as he was cleaning in an office building on site.

He immediately contacted the building manager and waited by the socket until help arrived.

“An electrician came and in the end there wasn’t any need to even call the fire brigade,” Joe said.

“But the electrician said that if it had been left any longer it could have really been a problem – he said that I’d saved a potential fire, because it was sparking and within a few minutes would have gone up.”

When his line manager Joan Saunders got to hear of his actions she recommended Joe for the Mitie Impact Awards – a scheme aimed at recognising and rewarding Mitie workers who go the extra mile for the company’s clients.

Joe was initially given a Silver Impact Award and £250 of high street shopping vouchers. He was also invited to the annual awards dinner, which was held at the Williams F1 Conference Centre and Grand Prix Collection near Oxford.

At that dinner Joe was announced as one of only four gold award winners from across a nation-wide workforce of over 20,000.

He said: “It was fantastic, the best weekend of my life.

“I’d like to think that anyone would have done what I did, I could see that there was a problem and I just reacted naturally to it, it was no big deal.

“Obviously my managers thought it was a big deal, and I’d like to thank them for putting me forward for this award.”

Joe was given a further £1,000 of vouchers and narrowly missed out on the platinum award, which would have seen him drive off in a new car.

Joan Saunders said: “Joe is a great worker – he is always very keen and enthusiastic, and his quick thinking really did stop a potentially damaging fire. He deserves this award.”

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