Excellence and exemplary service were recognised at the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service Excellence Awards.

Hosting the event at the Huntingdon Marriot Hotel on March 17 was chief fire officer Chris Strickland together with assistant chief fire officer Jon Anderson.

They were joined by deputy chief executive Matthew Warren and head of media and communication Hayley Douglas.

Long service and good conduct medals were presented by deputy lieutenant Daryl Brown.

Mr Strickland said: “It gives me great pride to be able to recognise the achievements of so many members of staff from across different areas of the service.

“The passion, enthusiasm, and professionalism shown by our winners, as well as the years of commitment shown by those receiving long service awards, is really inspiring.”

Long Service (20 years) and Good Conduct medal recipients:

  • Mark Addinall – watch commander, Peterborough

  • Julian Bridgeman – watch commander, Cottenham

  • Steve Conway – watch commander, Huntingdon

  • Stephen Griffiths – crew commander, Cambridge

  • Warren Langford – crew commander, Burwell

  • Adam Newman – firefighter, Gamlingay

  • Paul Oakes – watch commander, Littleport

  • Rob Olivier – group commander, seconded to ESMCP project

  • Stephen Tibbett – crew commander, Cottenham

Long Service presentation:

  • Ian Barlow – 30 years’

  • Darren Biggs – 30 years’

  • Paul Clarke – 30 years’

  • Paul Fordham – 40 years’

Chairman’s Award (those who have recently retired having completed at least 25 years’ service):

  • Darren Biggs – firefighter, March

  • Nick Border – watch commander, driver training

  • John Cox – watch commander, Yaxley

  • Paul Fordham – firefighter, Soham

  • Roger Nunn – crew commander, Chatteris

  • Carl Pardon – station commander, Huntingdon

  • Chris Parker – area commander, Huntingdon

  • Farsh Raoufi – station commander, Peterborough

Excellence Awards:

  • Cathy Rogers – continued outstanding support for business development projects, particularly her involvement with TRACS.

  • Roger Pake – his excellent fundraising efforts during the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Cheryl Bigger and Rob Olivier – contribution to the Insight programme.

  • March Fire Station – commitment to co-responding during and beyond the pandemic and community engagement under Andy Powell.

  • Vicky Vata, Stacey O’Hara and Rachel Pope – compassionate and supportive handling of a situation that resulted in a positive outcome.

  • Vaccination volunteering delivery team – working with partners to involve staff in Covid vaccine rollout and coordination of the programme.

  • Huntingdon Red Watch – operational excellence when skilfully rescuing a casualty from a complex situation at a university building.

  • Buttercup Avenue learning package team – team work in producing an excellent, innovative package following the tragic incident.

  • Ben Quail and Kelly Carruthers – continued excellence in offering e-learning to staff.

  • Stocker Standen – after incident care following the incident at Buttercup Avenue.

  • Jill Gibbs – continued excellence in delivering community safety activity, including post Buttercup Avenue.

  • Lateral flow tests delivery team – leading the way to research, purchase and implement testing capability for staff to help with Covid response at work.

  • Cambridge Blue Watch – for excellent support with content for service’s social media channels and virtual engagements with schools and local groups.

  • Dogsthorpe Green Watch – life-saving actions to assist a casualty impaled on a spike.

  • Matt Scruby – fundraising activities for Addenbrooke’s hospital.

Chief officer’s commendation:

  • Jamie Dama - life-saving actions assisting a casualty at a house fire in Stretham.

  • Bobby Seymore - life-saving actions assisting a casualty at a house fire in Cambridge.

Mr Strickland added: “Our awards allow us to celebrate all the hard work and dedication shown by staff and to thank them and their families for providing great support.

“They show me how devoted our staff are to providing a great service to the people of Cambridgeshire.”

He added: “Being able to celebrate our staff achievements in this way would not be possible without the continued support of our sponsors.

“I must say a big thank you to all the organisations that contributed to the evening.”

The evening ended with a raffle of prizes donated by sponsors.