Celebrating modern-day heroes

April 2022: EENA held its 112 Awards Ceremony 2022 on April 27 to reward organisations and individuals who have gone the extra mile to keep people safe



Around 300 people joined the celebration of the outstanding achievements of these modern-day heroes and to recognise their commitment to people's safety. Read some of their stories here:

Outstanding Rescue Award: Dr Jens Kleinefeld, UEFA Venue Medical Officer, Germany During UEFA Euro 2020, football player Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field owing to a cardiac arrest. Thanks to the swift response of the medical team, Eriksen was resuscitated on the pitch.






Bravery Award: Adam el Hamami & Ramy Shehata, Italy
A driver hijacked a school bus outside Milan and threatened to kill more than 50 children. The carabinieri were alerted by two 13-year-olds who were able to free their hands and dial 112.








Citizen Lifesaving Award: Omar Echakiri, Belgium
Azédine, Omar and Raphaël made national headlines when they managed to break through a wall to rescue an elderly lady trapped in her home on the ground floor of a flooded building.
 






Lifetime Achievement Award: Ute and Siegfried Steiger, Germany
A posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award for the creation of the Björn Steiger Foundation and their outstanding contribution to improving public safety in Germany.
 






Community Initiative Award: ‘Les Week-Ends Solidaires’, France
In the wake of Storm Alex, this project was introduced to help those affected by the disaster. The brigade of volunteers still helps local people to repair, recover and rebuild from critical events.
 






Exceptional Call Taking Award: Comando Generale dell'Arma dei Carabinieri, Italy
This involved the widely publicised rescue of 50 children hijacked by the school bus driver. No one was seriously injured in the incident, thanks to the interventions of Italy's carabinieri police force.
 





112 Emergency Communications Centre Award: 112 Emergency Communications Service Centre, Greece
For significant improvements in its Emergency Communications Centre – from expanding incoming communication capabilities from simple phone calls to multimedia communications, including the deployment of AML.
 





Digital Volunteering Award: VOST Portugal
For providing lifesaving information online for citizens and emergency services during Cyclone Idai, which hit Mozambique in March 2019 and led to 1300 lives lost.
 






Hero Award: Casper Stensby, Sweden
For rescuing Celine, who was trapped inside her burning car after her steering wheel got stuck and her car crashed into a tree.
 







Innovation in Rescue Award: SOS Alarm, Sweden
For incorporating drones into EMS dispatching and the innovative use of this game-changing technology to save lives.
 






This year, the EENA Conference is held in Marseilles, France from April 27 to 29. More details here