SalfordOnline
Your local community website
   Salford Station Commander wins top award
Working with people with Down’s Syndrome, targeting local communities to stress the importance of car seat belts for children, and combining fire safety awareness with football training for young people, were just some of the successes in this year’s Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) Equality and Diversity Awards. Amongst the awards presented on the 24th March *, were two for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) staff who were recognised in two categories. Winners in the ‘Partnership Working’ category** was GMFRS Moss Side Fire Station Boxing Gym staff. Runner up in the ‘Leadership – Individual Award’ category*** was Station Commander Paul Starling from Salford Borough. The annual awards were presented by Sir Ken Knight the Government’s Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser at a reception in London. The awards were established in 2007 by Communities and Local Government to encourage and share good practice across the Fire and Rescue Service. Sir Ken Knight said, “It is clear that most fire and rescue services are taking seriously the need to improve and strengthen their connections with all parts of their communities, including the vulnerable and those most at risk of fire. They are rightly also seeking to increase their staff from under represented groups including women. As both employers and public service deliverers it is vital that good progress is made in equality and diversity and I welcome the improvements in the FRS that the latest annual report shows. I also congratulate the winners and runners up in this year’s awards.” Chairman of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority Cllr James Pearson, said “It is a real pleasure to see that the hard work of these individuals and teams have been recognised in this way. As an organisation we aim to be a positive influence, working within our communities, reaching and serving all. There could be no better recognition of our collective achievements than these national awards”. County Fire Officer Steve McGuirk said, “I congratulate both those that have received recognition at these awards, but also those that were nominated. As a professional fire officer I take a great deal of personal satisfaction that their hard work has been recognised. Fire does not recognise boundaries or restrictions based on age, gender, race, religion or even income, and neither does GMFRS. We are determined to build on these successes – helping keep all our communities safe”. Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
