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| The London Fire Brigade celebrated staff's special achievements yesterday |
Some of London Fire Brigade's most dedicated and innovative staff were honoured yesterday (4 November), winning ‘Special Achievement Awards' at a ceremony held at Altitude in Millbank Tower.
Certificates were handed out for people and projects including:
- Three firefighters from Hornchurch Fire Station (Marc Berridge, Richard Norris and Andrew Wright) for saving a baby by performing CPR until an ambulance arrived.
- A firefighter (Will Lonsdale, New Malden Fire Station) who researched and found a link to fires in homes with prepayment electricity meters, as a result of people using alternative means of heat and light when funds for the meter had run out.
- Holloway firefighters (Crew Manager Alan Flynn , FF Nicholas Thomas, FF Ben Daws, FF Robert Summerfield) who were alerted by member of the public that there had been a stabbing, and provided immediate life saving first aid to the victim.
- A watch manager (John Carpenter, Woodford Fire Station) who was the driving force behind a project which identified local possible arson targets, gathered risk information and provided it to fire stations in order to improve firefighter safety. The project is now being rolled out across the Brigade.
- Poplar Fire Station's Blue Watch, who used recently implemented lifesaving equipment, whilst assisting a member of the public who had collapsed. They used a defibrillator to save the life of a man having a heart attack.
- A firefighter (Darren Heather, Poplar Fire Station) whose quick thinking led to the retrieval of a precious holy scripture from a fire in a Sikh temple, preventing members of the public entering the temple themselves to get the book.
- Three firefighters (Watch Manager Adrian Dutson, Edmonton, Firefighter Russell Webb, Wennington, and Firefighter Ron Montgomery, Hornchurch), for their commitment to road safety through their work on the ‘Safe Drive Stay Alive' project.
The Brigade also recognised partner organisation and awards were given to the University of East London (Vanessa Hansen) for work to raise awareness of fire safety issues amongst students, Leonard Cheshire Disability (William Gallagher) for projects improving community engagement and Wandsworth Council (Sue Yoxall), for her efforts to make her borough safer.
Brian Coleman AM, FRSA, Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority said: "The range of awards demonstrates the way the fire and rescue service is evolving. Of course, our crews still deal with emergencies and save lives, but today's firefighters also take part in innovative projects to stop emergencies happening in the first place. I'd like to congratulate the award winners, and look forward to another successful year for the Brigade with many more impressive achievements."
