London Ambulance Service praises girl, 8, after 999 call

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 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 even tried on the paramedic’s helmet.

Farah (right) with her siblings Gabriel (middle) and Anouk (left) at London Ambulance Service HQ in Waterloo (Image: London Ambulance Service)

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 attended the service’s Waterloo HQ alongside six-year-old Anouk, two-year-old Gabriel, her mother Nadja, and father Scott, where they met emergency call co-ordinator Matthew Hawkins, who took the call, and staff who attended that day.

Recollecting the day 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."

Sadly, baby Gabriel had suddenly reached for this hot tea on the counter and pulled it over himself before his mother could react.

Farah continued: "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."

Farah with her family, call handler Matt and Deputy Director of 999 Operations James Eden (Image: London Ambulance Service)

Her act of courage and bravery featured in the latest episode of BBC Ambulance.

Call handler Matthew 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."

Farah’s parents are also incredibly proud of her actions.

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.

"On the day of the accident I was surprised that Farah knew our address (including the postcode off by heart).

"My advice to parents would be to teach children from the age of about six the number for emergency services and also their full address.

"We have been doing this with Farah's younger sister since the accident."

Teaching your child to learn how to call 999 could save lives.

Public education manager Christina Wright said: "Teaching children from an early age how and when to call 999 for an ambulance is really important.

"It’s also vital that they know their address and how to tell the emergency services how to find their home.

"Each year we see examples where young children are able to act quickly to call 999 for family members, making sure they get help as soon as possible."