Employees who have made an “outstanding” contribution to Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service were recognised at the Celebration of Success event.
Group Commander Mark Donnelly said: “We want to recognise the achievements of members of the organisation who, through their hard work and diligence, have made an outstanding contribution to the service over the last 12 months.”
Chief Fire Officer John Redmond presented a number of certificates to members of staff.
They included Rabinder Dhami, from the Community Fire Safety Department, who established a unique data sharing protocol with Telford and Wrekin Council which has led to more than 600 visits to vulnerable over 70’s by fire crews giving fire safety advice in Telford and Newport.
Natalie Parkinson and Laura Kavanagh-Jones, from the Equality and Diversity department, introduced the Dyslexia Support Programme to support dyslexic employees by creating individual programmes for each employee. Working with managers and professionals, they provide specialist dyslexia assessment and support including a full diagnostic assessment, tuition, and practical support including visual enhancement aids when required.
“They are congratulated for their work to encourage and support our employees to come forward, be assessed and receive what for many has been life-changing assistance,” said Mr Donnelly.
Neil Grady, who has just retired, was recognised and nominated by Equality and Diversity for his hard work and passion for raising awareness about dyslexia and promoting the service’s reasonable adjustments programme. He voluntarily produced a presentation to colleagues, attended dyslexia information day and made an awareness film.
Sally Edwards and Ron Davia were praised for their technical IT innovation to improve resilience. They developed and implemented a virtualised Command and Control system across the service and proposed a new way of hosting and delivering the crucial Command and Control system.
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service is the first in the country to place this “key system” on the most resilient platform.
Firefighters Kat Frost, Ruth Walkerdine and Louise Fletcher championed Equality and Diversity with their involvement and commitment to taster days for women. They gave radio interviews and newspaper interviews, attended taster days and encouraged more women to apply to become firefighters.
Jordan and Aaron Castle, on work experience with the brigade, worked alongside fire service personnel to deliver the Crucial Crew programme to schoolchildren to teach them about safety.
Members of the Protection Department worked hard between 18 months and two years to gain their Level 4 Diploma in Fire Safety after completing numerous courses and research. Louise Derricutt, Ceri Flavell, Paul Smith, Lynn Walker and Paul Fulgoni are pictured receiving their awards.
Paul Fulgoni gained his Advanced Professional Certificate in Legal Skills in Investigation (APCIL) level 7 certificate qualification by successfully completing an 8 day course and examinations. This course is accredited at a level 7 BTEC, which is considered equivalent to a master’s level, by Edexcel a national awarding body.
