Essex County Fire and Rescue Service shortlisted for 12 prestigious awards

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) has been shortlisted for 12 prestigious awards, eight in the Excellence in Fire and Emergency Awards, two in the National Fire Chiefs Council Prevention Awards and two in the Asian Fire Service Association Awards. 

Last year, the Service was named UK Fire and Rescue Service of the Year at the iESE Ltd Public Sector Transformation Awards. As well as receiving Collaboration of the Year award at the Excellence in Fire and Emergency Awards, and multiple recognitions at the Asian Fire Service Personal Fair and Diversity Awards.

Rick Hylton, Chief Fire Officer / Chief Executive, said: “I am immensely proud of every colleague and team who has been shortlisted – it goes to show what a fantastic Service we all work for and how we all want Essex to be the best fire and rescue service in the country. 

“Following our success in a number of awards last year, it’s great to see colleagues across our Service continue to be recognised for their dedication to keeping our communities safe.  

“Good luck to everyone.”

Nominations for this year include:

Excellence in Fire and Emergency Awards 

• Emergency Service of the Year (the nomination included using drone technology, how we engage with our communities and our electric vehicle partnership with Audi) 
   
• Innovation of the Year (Liam Noll, Fitness Advisor for his groundbreaking research on the return to work for operational firefighters following injury) 
   
• Emergency Services Collaboration of the Year (Community Wellbeing Officer team, a collaboration with Cambridge Fire and Rescue and East of England Ambulance Service, primarily to help vulnerable people who have suffered falls in their homes) 
   
• Youth Champion of the Year (Education team, the first fire service in the country to launch an education programme for children not in formal education) 
   
• Neurodiversity Champion of the Year (Education team, the first fire service in the country to launch an education programme for children not in formal education) 
   
• Most Influential Woman in Fire (Colette Black, Director of People Services, for her work to remove barriers, improve the experience and increase engagement of fire and rescue service colleagues nationally) 
   
• Most Influential Ethnic Minority Individual in Fire (Muhammad Ahsan, Community Safety Officer, for his work to build relationships with minority communities) 
   
• Outstanding Contribution to the Fire and Rescue Service (Firefighter Gerald Greenfield, Newport, who has served his community for more than 40 years) 

The awards will be held in One Great George Street, London on Friday 6 December.  

National Fire Chiefs Council Prevention Awards 

• Water Safety Award – Water Safety team (highlighting a number of initiatives including the Waterside Responder Scheme) 
   
• Partnership working Award – Community Wellbeing Officer team (a collaboration with East of England Ambulance Service, primarily to help vulnerable people who have suffered falls in their homes) 

The awards will be held on Thursday 14 November at the Crown Plaza in Nottingham, on the first day of the National Fire Chiefs Council Prevention Conference. 

Asian Fire Services Association Awards 

• Partnership of the Year – Community Wellbeing Officer team (a collaboration with East of England Ambulance Service, primarily to help vulnerable people who have suffered falls in their homes)
• Champion of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion – (Colette Black, Director of People Services, for her work to remove barriers, improve the experience and increase engagement of fire and rescue service colleagues nationally)  

 The awards will be held on Wednesday 13 November at the Hilton in Bristol.