On 27 September, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) shined the spotlight on those that have gone above and beyond to deliver a truly outstanding service in the last 12 months and staff that have devoted 20 years to serving the public.
During the evening, those in attendance recognised and celebrated 11 award categories, including Employee of the Year, Fire Station of the Year and Emergency Responder of the Year.
Employee of the Year was awarded to Jackie Tappern who works in the Service’s HR team. Jackie works tirelessly to support all staff, particularly with health and work-related concerns. Jackie’s reliability and unfailing support made her this year’s extremely deserving winner.
Fire Station of the Year was awarded to Mortimer Fire Station. The crew received the award for increasing the number of on-call firefighters at the fire station. This has led to better fire engine availability to respond to emergencies, ultimately resulting in a more resilient service being provided to the local Mortimer community.
Chairman of the Royal Berkshire Fire Authority, Councillor Colin Dudley, said: “I am delighted that we were able to recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of those who work for, and with, the Service.
“Whilst the evening is an opportunity to celebrate with friends and family, it was also an opportunity to reflect on the many ways in which staff and partners have gone above and beyond the call of duty in their work.”
There were two significant incidents recognised at this year’s Awards Ceremony, which led to two Emergency Responder of the Year Awards being given in recognition of the actions.
Chief Fire Officer, Trevor Ferguson, said: “This year has been both a very challenging and rewarding year for the Service, so it is crucial that we take the time to reflect on the personal contributions of all those that attended the evening, and of those that weren’t able to attend.”
The evening not only brought together, fire and rescue service staff, volunteers, Fire Authority Members and partners from blue light services. In addition, the Lord Lieutenant of Royal Berkshire, Mr James Puxley, presented the Long Service and Good Conduct Medals under Royal Warrant on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen and the High Sheriff of the Royal County of Berkshire, Lucy Zeal and Matt Parr, Her Majesty’s Inspector of the Fire & Rescue Service presented awards to recipients.
RBFRS would like to thank sponsors Angus Fire, FireHawk, Bristol Uniforms, Reliance Medical, Knights Brown, Pegasus Group, Ridge, HLM Architects and Pegasus who supported the Service in putting on a special occasion for all nominees, winners and recipients.
