Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) celebrated the outstanding achievements of staff, partners, members of the public and Fire Authority Members at its annual Awards Ceremony on Friday, 22 September.
During the evening, outstanding acts of courage, commitment, and community service were recognised through a wide range of awards. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of Long Service and Good Conduct medals, on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen.
Presentations were given by Deputy Lieutenant of Berkshire, Doctor Carolyn Boulter; the High Sheriff of the Royal County of Berkshire, Mrs Sarah Scrope; Chairman of Royal Berkshire Fire Authority, Councillor Colin Dudley; and RBFRS’ Chief Fire Officer, Mr Trevor Ferguson.
Chairman of Royal Berkshire Fire Authority, Councillor Colin Dudley, said: “It was a great honour to celebrate the long service and good conduct of RBFRS’ personnel at the annual Awards Ceremony, amongst other outstanding achievements. The event is a special evening which recognised the dedication of our staff, volunteers, partners, members of the public and Fire Authority Members alike. I thoroughly enjoyed celebrating with those who attended.”
Chief Fire Officer at Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, Trevor Ferguson, said: “I am delighted that we were able to recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of those who work for, and with, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service. This event provides an opportunity for us to thank people on behalf of residents right across Berkshire for the exceptional work that they do.”
Winners from the evening included:
- Hungerford Community Fire Station won the Fire Station of the Year Award for their time and effort given during the refurbishment works that established the first tri-service community fire station. The crew also maintained an emergency response service throughout the project.
- Martin Simmonds, Crew Manager at Maidenhead Fire Station won the Emergency Responder of the Year Award for the way he dealt with a difficult house fire in 2016, at the height of the first heat wave where the temperature was reported to be around 32 Celsius.
- The Big Pull Team won the Most Improved and Innovative Fundraiser of the Year Award. The team consisted of operational staff from Caversham Road Fire Station and Newsham Court. They won the award for completing their challenge to pull the 3.5 tonne water rescue unit across Berkshire, raising over £3,000 for charity.
- Gary Thomas, Senior IT Technician won the Employee of the Year Award for his helpful manner no matter what time of day or night it is, including Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve to support his operational colleagues.
Special recognition was paid to those who were involved in the extraordinary fundraising activity that occurred after the Grenfell Tower fire. Over a weekend, RBFRS staff held a series of fundraising events, which raised over £25,000 to support those directly affected by the tragedy.
During the ceremony, volunteers, chaplains and Fire Authority Members also celebrated the completion of their long service to Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service.
Colleagues from the other partner agencies also attended the event to celebrate RBFRS’ successes over the past year and recognise the collaborative contribution made to enabling the people of Royal Berkshire to lead safe and fulfilling lives.
Thanks to our sponsors for the evening: Benenden, Ridge, Ensphere, Konica Monolta and Firehawk.
