Fire service heroes shine at awards evening

The Long Service and Good Conduct and Values Awards 2024, held at the Mercure Hotel, Bedford, recognised the outstanding contributions and achievements of BFRS staff, highlighting their dedication to the Service’s values and commitment to the communities they serve.

The evening was hosted by Editor of FIRE magazine, Andrew Ledgerton-Lynch OBE, and welcomed 150 people to celebrate 20, 25 and 30-year long service awards followed by a shortlist of award winners nominated by colleagues for their outstanding work.

Chief Fire Officer Andy Hopkinson said: “Our annual awards event is always one of my yearly highlights as it gives us the opportunity to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our staff. The stories we heard last night of the truly incredible work that is happening across our Service reflects just how committed our people are to looking after the communities of Bedfordshire.

“Celebrating our achievements in this way would not be possible without the support of our sponsors. I must also say a big thank you to all the organisations that contributed to the evening.”

Fire and Rescue Authority Chair, Cllr Jacqui Burnett, said: "It gives me immense pride to recognise the achievements of so many of our colleagues. The passion, enthusiasm and professionalism shown by our winners and our runners up, as well as the years of commitment shown by those receiving long service awards is truly inspiring and fills me with joy."

The Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, Mrs Susan Lousada, awarded 20 and 30-year Long Service and Good Conduct medals under Royal Warrant, alongside Chief Fire Officer Andy Hopkinson. The FRA Chair presented the 25-year long service certificates. Gold Sponsors Motorola and Fire Angel presented Value Awards to winners along with the Service’s Principal Officers, the Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire Mrs Susan Lousada and High Sheriff of Bedfordshire, Bav Shah.

The Service would like to thank gold sponsors Motorola Solutions and Fire Angel and silver sponsors MSA and LearnPro Group for making the evening possible.

The Values Awards are BFRS internal awards that reflect a variety of different achievements that were nominated by colleagues and chosen by a judging panel.

The winners:

Dare to be Different - presented to the team and individual who have been innovative in their approach to the Service, stakeholders or wider community. They have been bold in their approach, have welcomed challenge and have been open to innovative ideas and have dared to be different! 

Team - David Lynch & Dave Watson - recognised for their work on developing an English course for immigrants and asylum seekers who speak other languages.

Individual – Rachel O’Brien - for her commitment and dedication in designing and delivering new and engaging training and development solutions.

Every Contact Counts - for those who have shown outstanding customer care for the Service and the wider community and proven they make a positive difference each time, with respect, dignity and professionalism. 

Team - Vision Virtual Reality Team: Steve Fowler, Petia Asparouhova & Richard White - nominated for excellent project management delivering a collaborative project on time.

Individual - Nick Such - recognised as an exemplar of unwavering dedication for training firefighters.

On-call support management team – a team that has worked tirelessly to drive improvement in the on-call, look after our people and get pumps on the run to increase availability.Team - Fire Survival Guidance Implementation Team: Anthony Doherty, Michael King & Michael Rankin - for the work they have done on taking the lessons from the Grenfell tragedy to implement a new information system for incidents.

Individual - Winnie Fleming - for her resilience and determination to deliver the best reporting.

We’ve got your back - presented to the team and individual who has cared, protected and stood up across the Service and the wider community. They have committed  to our culture and inclusion responsibilities and have gone over and above their role(s) proving that they strive to keep us safe whilst being supportive and inclusive.

Team - Leah Holton, Michael Ludlow & Sammi Partridge - for the explementary way they have handled fire survival guidance calls.

Individual - Trevor Gradwell-Smith - recognised for being an inspirational leader during change.

Paul Fuller Charity Award - awarded to a person or team who has shown outstanding commitment and support to a charity.

Team - Thomas Warner & Hadrian’s Wall team - for taking on a great challenge alongside a number of smaller charity fundraisers, for The Fire Fighters Charity.

Individual - Josh Matthews - for his inspirational commitment to raising funds for numerous charities.

The Cadet Award - The Chris Page Award is presented to the cadet who is recognised either for outstanding contribution to the development of their cadet unit and leadership of their peers and/or for academic excellence in the pursuit of knowledge relating to fire service operations. 

Charlie Mills - embodied the values of the late Chris Page and the award that carries his name – exceptional performance, attendance and positive attitude.