TWO heroic firefighters saved a man's life after he suffered a suspected heart attack in Frinton.

The Frinton man's grateful wife thanked Essex County Fire and Rescue Service crewmen Keaton Eccles and Oliver Ingrouille after coming to her husband's aid.

The pair rushed to the aid of the patient before the arrival of paramedics as part of a 12-month pilot scheme between the East of England Ambulance Service Trust, which launched in December last year.

It is aimed at helping vulnerable people, primarily those who have fallen in their homes.

The fire service's community wellbeing officers complete a three-week emergency responder training with the ambulance service as part of the scheme.

The heart attack victims' wife said: "I would just like to say how appreciative I am to Keaton and Ollie, who were sent to help my husband Karl after he called 999 for a suspected heart attack.

"This is the first I had heard about this new collaboration between fire service and ambulance service. What a great idea.

"They came very quickly, made Karl feel calm and safe.

"They quickly decided to ask for an ambulance to take him to hospital. The ambulance came quickly too.

"Once they left Karl in the safe hands of the ambulance service, Keaton and Ollie realised I had no smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, which I haven't had for a few years, and fitted them for me.

"What an amazing service and what lovely, polite, professional guys they are.

"Thank you so much."

As part of the new scheme, the Ambulance Service will assess a call after a person suffers a fall.

If appropriate, it will be assigned to the community wellbeing officers who will attend and discuss the patient’s condition with the ambulance service.

The scheme comes after it was revealed that falls account for up to 20 per cent of the ambulance service’s calls.

Many people who have fallen do not have urgent injuries and need to be helped up and checked to ensure they are safe.

The partnership aims for a community wellbeing officer to attend within an hour of the call and allow ambulance crews to attend to the most seriously ill people in Essex.

Once the officers have helped the patient, they will carry out a home safety check to ensure smoke alarms are working and will also help to reduce the risk of fire or further falls.