A FIRE service has been recognised for its “outstanding” work following a glitzy awards ceremony.
The Essex County Fire and Rescue Service has been named UK Fire and Rescue Service of the Year at the iese Ltd Public Sector Transformation Awards.
The award recognises a fire service which “is deemed outstanding in transforming the delivery of its services", while the iese aims to advance the improvement and efficiency of local public services in the UK.
The ECFRS is one of the largest fire and rescue services in the UK, covering an area of 1,400 square miles and a population of 1.8 million.
The service provides response from 50 fire stations in the county.
It was awarded for its approach to increasing officer numbers and training, prevention, communications by launching a new website and using Nextdoor, and recruitment with positive action campaigns.
The service's dedication to increasing volunteer numbers, prevention using the Community Wellbeing Officer partnership with the ambulance service, response with investment in drones and pilot training, and Urban Search and Rescue team's missions was also heralded.
Bosses at ECFRS have now expressed how proud they are to be recognised for their innovative work "to keep everyone in Essex safer".
Rick Hylton, chief fire officer and chief executive, has thanked all his fire service colleagues for their hard work and continued support.
But, despite being proud of the achievement, he believes more can be done to continue the growth of the service.
He said: “This accolade is the culmination of efforts from across the entire team at Essex County Fire and Rescue Service.
“We should all feel proud for what we have achieved to date; it has taken hard work at every level, and I’d like to thank colleagues for their continued support, without which, the improvements we’ve seen would not have been possible.
“While we are still very much on a journey and more remains to be done, this award is recognition that we’re doing the right things and making headway in becoming the outstanding service I know we can become.”
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