Brave Erin raises £65k for hero firefighters

Young Scot Awards:

Brave Erin raises £65k for hero firefighters Jan 29 2012

By Heather Greenaway

BRAVE Erin McNeill was just 18 when she was horrifically burned in a house fire.The talented singer was staying with a friend after a gig when a pot left on the cooker turned the house into a blazing inferno.Erin, of Menstrie, Clackmannanshire, was lucky to escape with her life but was so badly burned that surgeons had to cover her raw flesh with shark skin.

The 21-year-old, who died five times on the operating table and was told she might never walk or talk again, is determined not to let her injuries get her down.

Erin has raised more than £65,000 over the last three years for the firefighters who saved her life.Now her outstanding courage and selflessness have earned her a Young Scot Award nomination in the Unsung Hero category.Erin, who volunteers with Central Scotland Fire & Rescue Service, said: “I was seconds from dying when the firefighters arrived. I was passed out, lying face down on the floor.“If it wasn’t for those brave guys, I wouldn’t be here today. The least I can do is raise money for The Fire Fighters Charity.”

Erin, who travels to schools and colleges in Forth Valley warning others about the dangers of fire, raised £5500 last year by taking part in a 5K run in New York on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy.She also won £53,000 with her sister Karen Murphy, 32, on ITV1 show Holding Out For A Hero.

Before the blaze on Valentine’s Day 2009, Erin was on the brink of a full-time career as a singer but, due to the tracheotomy tube doctors had to insert in her neck, she has not sung a note since.She said: “Until the accident, singing was my life. But after having a tube in my throat for so long, singing is very difficult.”Erin was in Glasgow Royal Infirmary for eight months – and in a coma for six weeks.

In hospital she developed MRSA, pneumonia and acute organ failure.Mum Jean, 60, a council worker, and dad Eddie, 60, who works for a roofing firm, kept a bedside vigil.Erin said: “When I woke up, I couldn’t remember anything. I had 40 per cent burns to my body.“I found out doctors gave me only a 20 per cent chance of survival.”

Erin, who wants to get a qualification in youth work, added: “Surgeons used six pieces of shark skin, costing £10,000 each, to trigger my body to make skin cells, which saved my life.“I still have a lot of physical and emotional recovering to do but, when I’m talking to schoolkids, I’m full of confidence.”The charity worker has found love since the fire with offshore worker Grant Griffen, 21. He said: “She is a true fighter and she is my hero.”As a member of the Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Preservation Group, Erin will star as a firefighter in River City on Tuesday.And she is thrilled with her award nomination. She said: “It’s great to be nominated for my work.”Jan Mattison, of The Fire Fighters Charity, said: “Erin constantly gives back to those who saved her.”