Firefighter says King's medal is a huge honour

A firefighter awarded a medal for his work in disaster zones overseas says the recognition is "a huge honour" as he prepares to retire this week.

Shyam Rana, from Cannock in Staffordshire, is one of the first recipients of the new Humanitarian Medal, which is conferred by King Charles.

He has been honoured for his work in the aftermath of the 2023 Morocco earthquake, when he was part of a rescue team deployed by the UK government to reach people stuck under collapsed buildings.

"[When] you can see how much help you can give to these people, it makes you want to go back and do it time and time again," he told BBC Radio WM.

Mr Rana, 55, has been a firefighter for more than 27 years and serves West Midlands Fire Service from a base in Bickenhill, close to Birmingham Airport.

Alongside that role he has been in the UK International Search and Rescue (ISAR) team for 19 years, and deployed to seven large-scale emergencies overseas, including earthquakes in Morocco and also Turkey in 2023, as well as floods in Bosnia and wildfires in Greece.

He will receive his medal at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 18 February.

When asked to share a memory from one of his missions, Mr Rana recalled how his team rescued a young child in Turkey and also later saved the rest of her family.

"It was hugely rewarding, giving the child back to her mother," he said.

He added that even "a small-scale" rescue involving a few people made "a huge difference".

He said the medal felt like recognition for the whole UK ISAR team, which includes personnel from 14 fire services across the UK as well as medics.

Mr Rana said his family had been hugely supportive of his aid work overseas, which had been nerve-wracking for them at times.

He said of his wife Davina: "She's quite happy that it's coming to an end - it's been a long worrying time for her.

"But she is immensely proud and so are my children."

Mr Rana, who has 13-year-old twins, is due to retire on Friday and will attend the ceremony at Buckingham Palace with his wife later this month.

"I'll be wearing my uniform and it'll obviously be one of the last times I get to do that, so I'll be very proud," he said.

"People don't believe I am actually retiring! But I'm 55 now - it's time for me to leave the fire service. I'm sure there's lots of opportunities for me to do good in other avenues."

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