Celebrating Nottinghamshire at our Annual Awards Ceremony

On Wednesday 29 November we held our Annual Awards Ceremony at Nottingham's Crowne Plaza hotel.

The night was dedicated to recognising our amazing staff at Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, and brave members of the public who put themselves at risk in order to save the lives of others.

We were joined by the Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire Sir John Peace, Chair of the Fire Authority Councillor Michael Payne and the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire Veronica Pickering.

We were extremely happy to welcome our event sponsors on the night too, and would like to thank them again for their support.

We want to congratulate everybody who won an award, and thank everybody for attending the event - it was a huge success, and a great night celebrating those who constantly go above and beyond.

The award winners included presentations of the 20-year Long Service and Good Conduct medals, 30-year clasps and certificates to firefighters who achieved a distinction grade in their apprenticeship. 

You can read more about our winners on the night, below: 

Chief Fire Officer's Certificate of Recognition

Our first Certificate of Recognition was awarded to Firefighter Sophie Newnes, who demonstrated great empathy as she built trust with a 15-year-old girl who was in a state of extreme distress and at risk from a fall from height. 

A brave member of the public, Mr Bunja, was up next after helping to rescue a driver who was stuck in an overturned and smoking vehicle on the motorway. 

Another member of the public, Ismale Brown, went into a house fire to extinguish a fire and to rescue his neighbour.

And finally, an operational crew were first on scene at a house fire that unfortunately led to a triple fatality, despite their best efforts to save them. 

Chief Fire Officer's Commendation 

First up were two builders, Sean Holmes and Paul Harrison, who were on site at the Ice House, Nottingham, when they could smell burning. This led them to the fire, which was located on the seventh floor, where they went onto rescue the occupants. 

Alison Wood also rescued an occupant from a house fire, putting her own life at risk to save somebody else's. 

Domantas Ramdis and Mel Garder also won a Chief Fire Officer's Commendation for rescuing someone from a vehicle fire, again, saving a life.

Chair of the Fire Authority's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award

The NFRS BAME Community Advisory Group, who are a focus group designed to act as a sounding board to support our development of policies, procedures, and communications, with regards to the diverse communities across the city and county, won this award for their ongoing support to the service.

The Lord Lieutenant's 'Outstanding Public Service' Award

Retired employees, Andrew Williams and Jon Scott, for their work to help firefighters who may struggle following critical incidents. 

Watch Manager Martin Hickling also received an Outstanding Public Service Award for coming up with an initiative to teach local sports clubs vital life support skills, following the sad death of a 17-year-old boy.

The Fire Authority's 'Creating Safer Communities' Award

West Bridgford Red Watch were presented with this award for the delivery of the CPR sessions (as above). In total they have delivered the session to over 400 people.

The High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire's Lifetime Achievement Award

Firefighter Andrew Mumford has recently retired following 33.5 years service as an On-Call Firefighter at Bingham Fire Station, and was the worthy winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Frank Swann Award for Outstanding Contribution to The Fire Fighter's Charity 

A retired sub-officer, John Todd, was the recipient of this award for his dedication to raising funds for the charity. In December 2022 alone, he raised a huge £3,699.30!

Chief Fire Officer's Fundraising Trophy 

This award is given to the Fire Station who has raised the most funds for The Fire Fighters Charity in the last financial year.

In third place was Ashfield Fire Station raising a total of £3,457.50.

Collingham Fire Station came second, raising £3,504.10.

The winners were London Road Fire Station. They raised £4,145.32 through organising and attending Nottingham's Goose Fair, supporting the Theatre Royal Collections and annual Christmas collections in the City.

Professionalism Award

Firefighter's Oliver Wright and James Adams rescued an individual from a 30-meter-high electricity pylon whilst supporting Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service during an incident.

Firefighter Gareth Morley also won a Professionalism Award following a water rescue near Beeston Weir on 23 July 2023. 

Respecting and Valuing Others Award

Sarah Sheil, one of our Service Support Administrators, has been the driving force behind a charity initiative. The initiative has allowed the service to donate hundreds of items to a local women's refuge, including Easter eggs, sanitary items and teddy bears. Later this month Sarah will be providing the refuge with Christmas presents, putting smiles on people's faces when they need it the most.