Hero mum from Northampton awarded bravery honour for saving family of seven from burning takeaway in town
A Northampton woman who saved a family of seven and their dog from being burned to death has been awarded one of the country’s highest bravery honours.
Chelsea Feole Evans is to receive a rarely awarded Royal Humane Society Silver medal, which has been personally approved by Princess Alexandra, the Society’s President.
The award is for her incredible bravery on the morning of December 5, 2023. She went into the burning Delush Burger House in Gold Street at around 10am on Tuesday (December 5) three times, first to bring five children out to safety, then to save their parents and lastly to rescue their family dog.
Speaking to Chronicle and Echo in the days after the incident, the then 30-year-old mum said: "I just finished at the gym and was going towards Gold Street and as I turned the corner I could hear children screaming. You could see the flames. I went in through a fire door and turned around and said to three men recording on their phones, ‘are any of you guys going to help me?’ and all four of them said ‘no, you’ll get carbon monoxide poisoning’.
"The door opened and a lot of smoke came billowing out. As I’ve ran in, it’s black and I couldn’t see anything. I put my torch on my phone on the stairs so I could find my way out. The kids have all come out of their rooms, there was five of them. I told them to cover their faces and follow me out down the stairs. We got out and I asked where their mum and dad are. They said, ‘sleeping’ and pointed at the flat. I thought, ‘oh God, I’ve got to go back in there’. So I did. I was scrambling around, I couldn’t see anything, it was pure black smoke. I went up and found them and told them to follow me. We were all in Rock Bottom taking shelter when the dad said ‘dog’. So me and the dad ran back in to get their dog and it came running out, a tiny little white dog in Christmas jumper. It was so cute.”
Chelsea was left with black nostrils and coughing up black soot before collapsing in a nearby salon.
She said: “We got taken into the salon and I collapsed on to the floor. I was salivating. I couldn’t breathe.”
Reflecting on her actions, she said: “I’m just a bit overwhelmed. I have two kids myself. Just hearing those kids scream, it was my point of call. 100% my mother’s instinct kicked in. It was just adrenalin. I acted out of pure impulse. I didn’t think. It was just mother’s instinct and adrenalin. I’m just glad they’re all ok.”
As well as the award she is to receive she has also won the personal praise of Andrew Chapman, Secretary of the Royal Humane Society.
“She was a true heroine. Without a shadow of doubt she was the right person in the right place at the right time,” he said.
“She put her life on the line and went into the burning building not once but three times. What she did was utterly incredible. The Society’s Silver Medal is very rarely awarded but if ever there was a case where it was deserved this is it.
“Most people would think seriously before putting themselves at risk in the way she did but her only thought was to save the people – and the dog – from the burning building. She richly deserves the award she is to receive.”
The roots of the Royal Humane Society stretch back nearly 250 years. Other than awards made by the Crown it is the premier national body for honouring bravery in the saving of human life.