HEROIC staff members were recognised by Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service at its first awards evening for three years.

The ceremony, which had been cancelled in the last two years due to the pandemic, was held at Stonehouse Court Hotel near Stroud with 18 members of staff receiving awards.

A total of 15 members of the fire service received the long service and good conduct medal, with some members of staff having waited two years to receive the award.

The evening also saw chief fire officer recognition awards handed out to three members of staff, and Cllr Dave Norman, cabinet member responsible for the fire service at Gloucestershire County Council, presented his recognition award to the service’s control team.

The ceremony was attended by staff from across the fire service and their families.

Speeches were given by Cllr Norman, GCC chief executive Pete Bungard, GCC leader Mark Hawthorne and The High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, Air Marshal Sir Dusty Miller.

Recipients of the long service and good conduct medal were:

• Crew manager Adrian Clarke

• Station manager Hannah Ellis

• Firefighter David Freebury

• Crew manager Rachel Gorton

• Crew manager Emma Hulland

• Watch manager Lionel McCrea

• Station manager Jo Singh

• Watch manager David Smith

• Station manager Janet Williams

• Station manager Matt Amey

• Crew manager Stuart Beckett

• Crew manager Aaron Harris

• Watch manager Stuart Heath

• Watch manager Shaun Mullan

• Crew manager Terry Rogers

The chief fire officer recognition award was presented to:

• Jon Bird

• Steve Ellis

• Chris Richens

This was awarded for their efforts whilst driving a fire appliance to the Polish border to support firefighters in the Ukraine.

The councillor Dave Norman appreciation award went to Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service Control.

This was awarded for their continual commitment to the communities we serve throughout the pandemic and always.

Gloucestershire chief fire officer Mark Preece said: “This was my first awards evening as chief fire officer and it was an honour to celebrate with our staff and their families.

“It provided an invaluable opportunity to recognise the hard work that our staff do on a daily basis.”