On Friday 17 July, the Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service (BFRS) family came together for our annual People Awards, a special evening dedicated to recognising the outstanding achievements and contributions of our staff. This year’s event was held at Waddesdon Village Hall.
The awards featured 10 categories, celebrating colleagues who have gone above and beyond in their roles and demonstrated our values through their dedication, professionalism and commitment to serving our communities. Nominations were submitted by staff across the Service, judged anonymously and announced on the night.
The awards recognised individuals and teams who have embraced our promise to deliver an excellent, modern and agile Fire & Rescue Service. Winners were acknowledged for their commitment to keeping our communities safe, supporting colleagues, driving innovation and making a positive difference both within the Service and beyond.
A message from our CFO Louise Harrison
“I am incredibly proud to have exceptionally skilled and hardworking individuals whose dedication, commitment, and public service values shine through. Recognising and celebrating their achievements is a significant event in our calendar.
For this year’s People Awards we have celebrated the outstanding achievements in Innovation, Leadership, and Community Engagement. Each award is dedicated to recognising the remarkable contributions of our staff, whose commitment and hard work continually drive positive change within our organisation and beyond.”
Award categories
This year, we received an overwhelming number of nominations, showcasing the incredible talent and dedication within our organisation.
Here are winners for each category:
Culture and Inclusion Award
Leigh Rand, for championing women across the fire and rescue service and helping to create lasting improvements to facilities, policies and workplace culture.
Innovation Award
Fire Sense Programme, For helping partner organisations identify fire risks and refer vulnerable residents for support at an earlier stage.
Impact Award
Mike Downard, for his extraordinary work supporting the mental health and wellbeing of emergency responders, including establishing the Gratitude Games.
Rising Talent Award
Isobel Barton and Dean Hoadley, recognised respectively for being an inspiring role model for future firefighters and transforming systems that support our public safety work.
Support Team of the Year
Water Services Team, for completing inspection visits to every live hydrant within two years and strengthening the information available to operational crews.
Operational Team of the Year
West Ashland Red Watch, For their exceptional work supporting colleagues, local communities, charities and the ongoing development of the Service.
Community Action Award
Emily Hawkins, For her compassion and dedication in supporting homeless people, isolated older residents and community events across Milton Keynes.
Fire Fighters Charity Award
Emma Kirkman and Sasha Weaver, For taking on extraordinary personal challenges to raise vital funds and awareness for the Fire Fighters Charity.
Chief Fire Officer’s Award
Dave Tubbs, For his exceptional leadership and sustained contribution to operational resilience, multi-agency working and the development of the National Inter-Agency Liaison Officer (NILO) capability across Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes and the wider Thames Valley region.
Chairman’s Award
Craig Newman, For transforming how the Service uses data, intelligence and performance information, enabling more informed, evidence-based decision-making across the organisation.