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Cambs FRS: Excellence celebrated at annual awards event

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 (March 17), the event celebrated the achievements of staff from across different areas of the Service, highlighting outstanding accomplishments throughout the year. The commitment, dedication and professionalism of staff regularly going above and beyond to provide the best possible service to the people of Cambridgeshire were all celebrated by around 120 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 medal - 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 Deputy Lieutenant Mr Daryl Brown MBE DL. 
  • Long Service presentations – staff celebrated for reaching milestones of service, presented by the chief fire officer. 
  • Fire Authority Chair’s awards - an award made to retired staff that have completed at least 25 years' service with CFRS.  
  • Excellence Awards - these awards reflect a variety of different achievements that were nominated by staff in the Service and chosen by a judging panel. 
  • 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.” 

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

  • TruckEast and Scania
  • Emergency One and Clan Tools 
  • MSA Bristol
  • Systel
  • 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 Madsen, 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. 

  • Mark Addinall – Watch Commander, Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade 
  • Julian Bridgeman – Watch Commander, Cottenham Fire Station 
  • Steve Conway – Watch Commander, Training Centre, Huntingdon 
  • Stephen Griffiths – Crew Commander, Cambridge Blue Watch 
  • Warren Langford – Crew Commander, Burwell Fire Station 
  • Adam Newman – Firefighter, Gamlingay Fire Station 
  • Paul Oakes – Watch Commander, Littleport Fire Station 
  • Rob Olivier – Group Commander, seconded to ESMCP project 
  • Stephen Tibbett – Crew Commander, Cottenham Fire Station 

Long Service presentation

  • Ian Barlow – 30 years’ service in Combined Fire Control 
  • Darren Biggs – 30 years’ service at March Fire Station 
  • Paul Clarke – 30 years’ service in operational roles across the service  
  • Paul Fordham – 40 years’ service at Soham Fire Station 

Fire Authority Chair's Award 

Presented to staff that have recently retired having completed at least 25 years' service.

  • Darren Biggs – Firefighter, March Fire Station 
  • Nick Border – Watch Commander, Driver Training 
  • John Cox – Watch Commander, Yaxley Fire Station 
  • Paul Fordham – Firefighter, Soham Fire Station 
  • Roger Nunn – Crew Commander, Chatteris Fire Station 
  • Carl Pardon – Station Commander, Community Fire Safety, Huntingdon SHQ 
  • Chris Parker – Area Commander, Service Support, Huntingdon SHQ 
  • Farsh Raoufi – Station Commander, Community Fire Safety, Peterborough 

Excellence Awards 

  • Cathy Rogers: Nominated for her continued outstanding support for business development projects, particularly her involvement with TRACS. 
  • Roger Pake: Nominated for his excellent fundraising efforts during the coronavirus pandemic. 
  • Cheryl Bigger and Rob Olivier: Nominated for their contribution to the Insight programme, in particular continuing to deliver courses following a colleague’s departure. 
  • March Fire Station: For commitment to co-responding during and beyond the pandemic and their community engagement under the commendable leadership of Andy Powell. 
  • Vicky Vata, Stacey O’Hara and Rachel Pope: For their compassionate and supportive handling of a situation that resulted in a positive outcome when a vulnerable young person that had ran away from home was found near to the fire station. 
  • Vaccination volunteering delivery team: Working collectively with partners to involve staff in the national Covid vaccine rollout and coordination of the programme. 
  • Huntingdon Red Watch: For operational excellence when skillfully rescuing a casualty from a complex situation at a university building. (Award sponsored by Emergency One and Clan Tools)
  • Buttercup Avenue learning package team: Team work in producing an excellent, innovative learning package following the tragic incident. 
  • Ben Quail and Kelly Carruthers: For continued excellence in offering e-learning to staff. 
  • Stocker Standen: For his after incident care following the incident at Buttercup Avenue. 
  • Jill Gibbs: For continued excellence in delivering community safety activity, including post Buttercup Avenue. 
  • Lateral Flow Tests delivery team: Leading the way to research, purchase and implement testing capability for staff to help with our Covid response at work. 
  • Cambridge Blue Watch: For excellent support with content for the Service’s social media channels and virtual engagements with schools and local groups. 
  • Dogsthorpe Green Watch: Life-saving actions to assist a casualty impaled on a spike. (Award  sponsored by TruckEast and Scania)
  • Matt Scruby: Fundraising activities for Addenbrooke’s hospital.  
  • Jamie Dama – Chief Officer’s Commendation: Life-saving actions assisting a casualty at a house fire in Stretham. 
  • Bobby Seymore – Chief Officer’s Commendation: Life-saving actions assisting a casualty at a house fire in Cambridge.