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Cambs FRS - Staff achievement celebrated at annual fire service awards

Excellence and exemplary service were celebrated at the annual Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) Excellence Awards.

Taking place at the Huntingdon Marriott Hotel on Thursday (January 23), the event celebrated the achievements of staff from across different areas of the Service. The commitment, dedication and professionalism of staff who regularly go above and beyond to provide the best possible service to the people of Cambridgeshire were all celebrated by around 140 guests.

The annual event, which took place at the Huntingdon Marriott Hotel on Thursday January 23, celebrated the achievements of staff from across different areas of the Service. The commitment, dedication and professionalism of staff who regularly go above and beyond to provide the best possible service to the people of Cambridgeshire were all celebrated by around 140 guests.

Hosting the event was Chief Fire Officer Chris Strickland together with Assistant Chief Fire Officer Jon Anderson, with Deputy Chief Executive Matthew Warren and Head of Media and Communication Hayley Douglas, leading the ceremony.

The following awards were presented throughout the evening:

Long Service and Good Conduct medals - presented under a Royal Warrant for members of the uniformed service after completing 20 years of long and meritorious service to the fire and rescue service and the public. These were presented by Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, Mrs Julie Spence OBE QPM.

Chairman's Awards - an award made to retired staff that have completed at least 25 years' service with CFRS. Presented by Vice Chairman of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority, Councillor David Over.

Excellence Awards - these awards reflect a variety of different achievements that were nominated by staff in the Service and chosen by a judging panel.

Certificate of Commendation - a formal recognition to both members of staff and external stakeholders.

Chief Fire Officer's Commendation - to recognise the commendable actions of a member of staff or the public.  

Chief Fire Officer Chris Strickland said: “Our awards allow us to celebrate all the hard work and dedication shown by staff and to thank them and their families for providing great support.

“It gives me great pride to be able to recognise the achievements of so many members of staff from across the different areas of the Service. The passion, enthusiasm and professionalism shown by our winners, as well as the years of commitment shown by those receiving long service awards, is really inspiring. It shows me how devoted our staff are to providing a great service to the people of Cambridgeshire.

“Being able to celebrate our staff achievements in this way would not be possible without the continued support of our sponsors. I must say a big thank you to all the organisations that have contributed to the evening.”

Councillor Over added: “It’s always a privilege to celebrate the careers of our retired members of staff and to present them with a small token of our thanks. It never fails to impress me how dedicated our staff are across all areas of the Service, and the high standards I see every day are indeed something that fills me with pride.”

The cost for the event was paid for by the generosity of the following organisations:

  • TruckEast and Scania
  • Emergency One and Clan Tools
  • Supply Plus
  • Bristol Uniforms
  • Hunter Apparel
  • Interspiro

David Hall, Sales Director at TruckEast, said: "We were delighted to once again sponsor the ceremony, which recognises the excellent work that goes on not just on the frontline, but also behind the scenes, to help make Cambridgeshire a safer place to be."

Mike Masden, Managing Director of Emergency One (UK) Ltd and Clan Tools and Plant Ltd, said: "We are delighted to be sponsoring awards again this year. The ceremony highlights the contribution that many individuals within the fire and rescue service make towards keeping our communities a safer place to live and work."

The evening ended with a raffle of prizes donated by sponsors.

The list of awards and recipients are included below:

Long Service and Good Conduct medal recipients

Awarded after completing 20 years' long and meritorious service to the fire and rescue service and the public.

  • Richard Boston – Watch Commander, Training Centre, Huntingdon
  • Richard Broad – Firefighter, March
  • Rachel Casbon – Firefighter, Sutton
  • Lee Forster – Watch Commander, Training Centre, Huntingdon
  • Daniel Granger – Firefighter, Cottenham

Chairman's Award

Presented to retired personnel who have completed at least 25 years' service.

  • Mark Brown – Watch Commander, Whittlesey
  • Martin Brown – Station Commander, Fire Protection
  • Martin Claydon – Crew Commander, Burwell
  • David Killner – Watch Commander, Sawtry
  • David Murfitt – Firefighter, Littleport
  • Roy Nicholas – Firefighter, Gamlingay
  • Teri Seaber – Group Commander, Combined Fire Control
  • Debbie Vickers – Station Commander, Combined Fire Control

Excellence Awards

Georgina Coop

Nominated several times for her drive, passion, enthusiasm and consistently outstanding performance in developing staff across the organisation.

Media and Communication team

For producing the John Lewis advert themed Christmas video.

Simon Thompson

Nominated twice for planning and organising the Service’s training exercises.

Amanda Shepherd

Nominated twice for consistently going the extra mile and producing to high standards.

Nicola Barlow

Nominated twice for organising the memorial event for Firefighter John Humphries

John Fagg

For designing and organising the STEM school challenge programme.

March Fire Station

For demonstrating outstanding community spirit and fundraising, as well as maintaining consistently high availability for both pumps at the station.

Liam Napier

For dealing with a member of the public that was threatening to jump from a bridge onto the A14.

Bruce Parcell

For delivering over and above expectations and consistently producing to high standards.

Joe Gacon

For consistently going over and above to deliver engaging road safety education and creative media content.

Huntingdon Fire Station On-call crew

For consistently going above and beyond supporting incidents with the Incident Commander Unit and the various other command support functions.

Dogsthorpe and Stanground White Watch - presented by Emergency One and Clan Tools.

For excellent use of ops discretion at an incident to rescue quickly rescue casualties trapped in a car in a water filled ditch. 

On-call Recruit of the Year - presented by TruckEast and Scania.

Chosen by the Service’s Training Centre team

Jon Yarnold (Papworth Fire Station)

Jon very much stood out to the training instructors while on his initial training course for his attitude and commitment.

Community Champion of the Year

Gary Dew

For his commitment and support delivering community safety activity as a volunteer.

Certificate of Commendation

BG Commercials

For supporting operational training with lorry cabs and venues.

Chief Fire Officer's Commendation

Nick Tait and Albi Andrews

For helping evacuate casualties from a house fire in Cambridge.

Bob Smith

For the lifesaving intervention made when his wife suffered a cardiac arrest.