An officer who has dedicated over four decades of his life to the Fire and Rescue Service has been formally recognised at Warwickshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service’s Long Service Aw...
An officer who has dedicated over four decades of his life to the Fire and Rescue Service has been formally recognised at Warwickshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service’s Long Service Awards.
Malcolm Gunter is the longest serving on-call firefighter in Warwickshire with over 40 years’ service. He joined Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service in 1979 at Kenilworth Fire Station where he continues to serve to this day. Malcolm has been instrumental over the years, ensuring that the station remains on the run, even when crew numbers are down. This is a real testament to his commitment and dedication to keeping the communities of Warwickshire, particularly Kenilworth, safer.
Malcom was presented with the Meritorious Service Medal which recognises long term service for those who are already holders of the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and have been judged as ‘good, faithful, valuable and meritorious’, with conduct judged to be ‘irreproachable’ throughout.
The evening also saw the presentation of the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, Community Achievement Awards, Community Support Awards, the Chief Fire Officer’s Commendations and Special Awards.
Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Services Chief Fire Officer, Kieran Amos said: “This is the first awards ceremony I have had the pleasure of attending as the Chief Fire Officer for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service. It was an honour to present Malcolm with his award for four decades of service, dedicated to protecting the community he serves.
“It was also an honour to recognise those staff that have completed 20 years’ service or have gone above and beyond to keep their communities safe. It is a privilege to be able to personally thank them for their commitment and dedication to the service and to the communities they serve.”
Talking about the evening, Chairman of Warwickshire County Council, Councillor Nicola Davies said:
“It was a pleasure to attend and have the opportunity to present some of the awards to officers who have shown great dedication to the fire and rescue service, some for over twenty years, and amazing commitment to serving the communities of Warwickshire. There were moving stories of officers going the extra mile to support people at their most vulnerable, running into a burning building to rescue a child and providing lifesaving advice on a 999 call, as they waited for crews to arrive. It was a humbling and memorable evening.”
The awards were as follows:
Fire Brigade Long Service and Good Conduct Medal – presented by Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire, Mr Timothy Cox.
The award is presented to members of the Fire and Rescue Service who have completed 20 years’ operational service and have demonstrated, during this period, their good conduct, loyalty and devotion to duty.
Watch Commander, Peter Bell, Alcester Fire Station
Watch Commander, Kate Butler, Henley Fire Station
Crew Commander, Tony Dumbleton, Nuneaton Fire Station
Station Commander, Andy Freeman, Atherstone Fire Station
Firefighter, Hugh Perry, Polesworth Fire Station
Watch Commander, Tim Skeath, Training and Development
Watch Commander Fire Control, Martin Swinden, Leamington Fire Station
Watch Commander, Daryl Townsend, Southam Fire Station
Community Achievement Awards – presented by Mr Simon Miesegaes, the High Sheriff of Warwickshire.
The first award was presented to Nuneaton volunteer, Rory Phelan. Rory has been supporting Nuneaton Fire Station on a voluntary basis for some years and is a hugely enthusiastic individual. Rory has supported open days, training exercises where he volunteers as a live casualty and fire station events. By giving his support, Rory has played a significant part in keeping both our firefighters and communities safer.
The second award was presented to four individuals, who have played instrumental roles in launching, delivering and supporting Biker Down, Warwickshire. Victoria Bristow and Anna Higgins from the Safer Roads Partnership, Paul Rowlands from West Midlands Ambulance Service and PC Richard Jenkins were all thanked for their individual efforts which together has ensured that the programme is delivered to a high standard and continues to go from strength to strength.
The next award in the category was for the Fire Fighters Charity Fundraising Award. The award was presented to firefighter, Rachel Streeting and firefighter Claire Wooldridge from Nuneaton Fire Station. Over the last few years, the team at Nuneaton have raised over £35,000 for the Fire Fighters Charity, with the last event alone raising £5,623. All monies raised provides much needed recovery and rehabilitation to firefighters or their immediate family who become injured or ill. Both Rachel and Claire have been the driving force behind community open days and community events and have inspired several stations to run their own open days.
The next award was presented for Station of the Year. This year’s award was presented to Henley in Arden Fire Station. Henley is an on-call station with 13 firefighters. This means that they rely on firefighters providing availability around their main job. Henley, like many on-call stations have a proud history of maintaining their availability for operational duties, but this year they have achieved an exceptional result of 100% availability. The commitment and dedication from the crew at Henley to keep their community safer is something all the crew should be very proud of.
The final award in this category went to Kenilworth and Polesworth Fire Station. The on-call Community Achievement Award was presented to both stations to recognise the significant contribution they have made to charity both nationally and locally. This includes donating some of the funds raised to their local youth football teams and hospitals for children.
Community Support Award
This year’s award recognises a local business whose owner is also a firefighter. This is a break from tradition, but rightfully so, as the individual has in their own way supported the Service, just as any other primary employer.
Indeed, their commitment as a retained firefighter too, means that what they achieve is doubly impressive and so clearly deserving of our thanks and recognition.
The award was presented to a Southam firefighter, Nick Bance by the Chair of Warwickshire County Council, Councillor Nicola Davies. Nick has provided vital cover for over five years at the station and runs his own business as a fire extinguisher and fire alarm engineer, adjusting his work to allow himself to provide 9 – 5 cover most weekdays.
Chief Fire Officer Commendation
This year there were seven awards presented to some outstanding teams and individuals who have displayed exemplary devotion to duty. The awards were presented by Warwickshire County Council’s Chief Fire Officer, Kieran Amos.
The first commendation was presented to Nuneaton and Bedworth fire crews in recognition of their professionalism and lifesaving actions at a serious house fire on the 20 October 2019. On arrival to the incident crews found a significant fire on the first floor of a home where a child was stuck in the bedroom. Supported by colleagues from West Midlands Fire Service, the crews showed true courage and extreme resolve in what could only be described as time critical situation which resulted in them rescuing a 22-month year old girl. They then administered first aid which ultimately saved the girl’s life.
The next commendation was presented to Oliver, Lucie and Jacob Cardwell who following their attendance at a first aid course at Southam Fire Station went on to save their mother’s life. The incident happened in August 2019 when the children woke up to find their mother unconscious. Going into action, the children called 999 to get help as quickly as possible and Lucie began CPR on her mother who had gone into a diabetic coma. Thanks to their quick thinking and the training they had learnt, they worked as a team to save their mother’s life. They are a true inspiration to all young people.
The third award was presented to Stratford fire crews in recognition of their professionalism and fast thinking actions at a serious incident on the 7 November 2019. On this date the crew were called to an attempted suicide which meant they had to act quickly to get the resident to safety whilst risking their own lives to do so.
The next award in this category was presented to Firefighter Control Handler, Layla Muldowney. On the 18 June 2019, Layla answered a 999 call to a physically disabled and visually impaired resident reporting a fire in her home. Smoke was quickly filling the house and the resident, and her husband were trapped in the property. Remaining calm, Layla provided the resident with lifesaving advice keeping both her and her husband safe until the crews arrived. As a newly trained control operator, this was the first incident that Layla had managed requiring this level of support and guidance.
The fifth award was presented to Michael Leach. Michael works in the Protection Department as an Inspector. Over the past 18 months he has been pivotal in the investigation of a premises that has breached Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005. The breaches were so serious that it has warranted the prosecution of the premises. Michael has gone above and beyond to ensure the required evidence and case files were in place to secure a successful prosecution.
The next award was presented to Kate Butler from Henley Fire Station. Kate joined Henley in August 1999 working her way through the ranks to Watch Manager in 2014. Kate is an exceptional fire officer and has been instrumental in leading and empowering her team to be the top performing on-call team for 2019 achieving and maintaining an incredible 100% availability for the last 12 months. Kate also volunteers for our DRASP team, is involved in school safety sessions, the Heartshield initiative and Safe and Well visits, all alongside running her own business. Kate sets high standards and has been a dedicated ambassador which is why we are honouring her service and dedication.
The final award was presented to Crew Commander, Gary McMahon. Gary works at Rugby Fire Station and is a valued member of the service. However, it is his commitment and contribution to community fire safety which really stands out. Gary has played a key role in driving community safety initiatives in Rugby including an innovative drink, drive and RTC initiative, water safety education and farm fire safety initiative to name but a few. All of this with one goal in mind, to keep Warwickshire communities safer.
Special Award
The special award was presented to Associate Director of Operations for South Warwickshire, Rachel Williams and Commissioner for Public Health and Strategic Commissioning, Amy Sirs. The award was presented for the successful implementation of the Hospital to Home Initiative at Warwick Hospital. Both have been instrumental with developing, shaping and delivering the service, helping to ensure its success along with the Fire Prevention Team. It’s key partnerships such as this that make a real difference to the safety of Warwickshire residents.
The final award for the evening was presented to our Fire Control Team. This award was carefully considered and is worthy of the team who have been through several changes over the last few years, including the implementation of new technology, working in collaboration with Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, changes to shift systems and an increased number of new recruits. Despite all this, the team have continued to provide a professional and enthusiastic service to the community and fire service colleagues. In the last 12 months, the team have gone above and beyond dealing with an increased volume of calls with the increase of fires in the summer and responding to flooding and rescues from flood water in the adverse weather conditions at the beginning of the month.