Chantelle Cole

Chantelle was in an upstairs bedroom at her home in Fakenham in Norfolk. All of a sudden, the lights in Chantelle’s room started flickering. She stepped out onto the landing to see a flash of light from the fuse box on the stairs catch the wallpaper, which quickly set alight trapping Chantelle upstairs.

Shouting out to her Mum, who was downstairs and called 999 but was unable to reach her daughter. The fire caught hold, and smoke quickly filled the house, including the upstairs area where Chantelle was trapped. She was overcome by the smoke and passed out.

Her Mum was safely out of the burning house but was unaware of her daughter’s condition. Crucially, she was able to describe in detail to the Fire and Rescue Service where Chantelle was located so they could reach her quickly. By this time, she had been trapped in her home for 20 minutes and time really was of the essence. The East of England Ambulance Service was called, and East Anglian Air Ambulance was tasked to the scene by helicopter.

Chantelle came round in the back of the land ambulance. The East Anglian Air Ambulance Anglia One (Norwich) crew were at her side, and with them the advanced skills, medication and equipment that would normally be found in a hospital emergency department. This enabled enhanced care at the incident scene – when Chantelle needed it most.

“I came round and was screaming because I could feel something on my back,” Chantelle explains. “My back was badly burned and, because of the extent of these burns, the East Anglian Air Ambulance crew quickly intubated me and started taking care of the burns I had sustained. I remember the paramedic held my hand as the doctor put me to sleep.”

The advanced care provided by our crew, combined with quick onward transfer to the most appropriate hospital, gave Chantelle the best possible chance of survival and recovery.

She was transferred to hospital by land ambulance, with our crew accompanying and monitoring her throughout the journey. She woke up in intensive care and spent a long three months in hospital receiving treatment and recovering from her ordeal.

“I had burns to my feet and elbows, but my back has been burned through every layer of skin and muscle,” she explains. “I was on nebulisers due to injury to my lungs from smoke inhalation and causing me to get pneumonia. I was later told that my chances of survival had been just 23%.”

Now, almost 12 years after Chantelle needed urgent critical care from the crew – she remains truly thankful for the help she received, which was all made possible thanks to the kindness and generosity of the charity’s donors and fundraisers.

Wanting to give back, Chantelle and her partner took part in Only The Brave, our muddy obstacle race, in September 2024.

Chantelle adds, “Before my incident I hadn’t heard of East Anglian Air Ambulance – but without them and their care I wouldn’t be here today.”