Sussex Fire Service Honours Staff, Partners And Public At Awards Ceremony

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service has celebrated the dedication, bravery and commitment of its staff at its annual Recognition and Achievement Awards Ceremony.

Volunteers who have spent two decades telling their powerful stories to make our roads safer, a member of the public who risked his life to save another, and off-duty firefighters who jumped into action at the first sign of danger were among those commended at Arundel Castle last night (7 November).

To begin the celebrations, 18 members of staff were given Long Service and Good Conduct Medals by the Lord-Lieutenant of West Sussex, Lady Emma Barnard, for their combined 410 years of employment.

This included Selsey firefighter, Andy Horner, who was presented with a rare medal to mark his 50 years of service. 

A total of 14 Commendation Awards were then handed out by the Chief Fire Officer, Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, to those that have been recognised for going above and beyond during the last 12 months.

Among the winners were Paula Clarke and Spencer Aston who were presented with the Chief Fire Officer’s Commendation Award for their contributions to improving road safety in West Sussex.

Paula has been part of the service’s Safe Drive Stay Alive team since it was created in 2006, and Spencer joined the following year. In that time, they have both voluntarily delivered their raw and emotive accounts of their experiences with road traffic collisions to over 120,000 college students, helping to keep vulnerable road users safe.

Charlie Dallaway, a member of the public, was presented with the Bravery Award for his life-saving actions after rescuing a man from Chichester Canal on 17 December 2023 who was stuck in the water and experiencing hypothermia.

Off-duty firefighters Sam Isted, Tom Williams and Charlie Welling picked up the Community and Partnership Award following an incident near Bognor Fire Station on 21 February 2024.

While driving behind a car, Sam realised something wasn’t right with the driver.

The car then came to a halt and Sam managed to remove the casualty from the vehicle.

Tom and Charlie were also nearby, and the three firefighters carried out CPR. Thanks to their quick response, the gentleman’s life was saved.

Other winners include Laura Mullins, the service’s Diversity and Inclusion Officer who recently retired after a phenomenal 46 years of service. Laura worked tirelessly throughout her career and transformed the service’s approach to equality, diversity and inclusion.

Broadwater Carnival Society also walked away with the Charity Champion Award after raising £150,000 for local charities since they formed 25 years ago. In 2015, the Carnival Society joined forces with Worthing Fire Station to host a joint event - Broadwater's Big Day Out – and this event raised a record-breaking £12,600 in July 2024.

Cllr Duncan Crow, Cabinet Member for Community Support, Fire and Rescue, said:

“Attending this event is always a huge pleasure and it’s great to hear stories about our local, often unsung, heroes who have gone above and beyond to keep the communities of West Sussex safe.”

Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, Chief Fire Officer, added:

“I am exceptionally proud of every single one of our medal recipients and award winners.

"Behind these awards are real people with stories that demonstrate outstanding commitment and remarkable dedication to making our county safer and our communities stronger.”

The full list of award recipients are:

Long Service and Good Conduct Medals (20 years):

• James Diston (Crewing Optimisation Group and Storrington)
• Lee Aggett (Retained Liaison Officer and Turners Hill)
• Pawel Kosla (Worthing)
• Steven Bridle (Horsham and Partridge Green)
• Simon Wenham (Crawley)
• Stuart Purves (Burgess Hill)
• Russell Gilpin (Organisational Assurance & Governance and Littlehampton)
• Christopher Phillips (Burgess Hill)
• Andrew Piller (Area Manager, Service Delivery)
• Adrian Kirkpatrick (Technical Rescue Unit)
• Daniel Dixon (Crawley)
• Calvin Fox (Shoreham)
• Philip Cook (Protection)
• Nicholas Horner (Group Manager, Service Delivery)

Long Service and Good Conduct Certificate (20 years):

• Lyndsay Pink (Assurance and Improvement Officer, Prevention)

Long Service and Good Conduct Medals (30 years):

• Andrew Packham (Worthing)
• Antony Walker (Technical Rescue Unit)

Long Service and Good Conduct Medals (50 years):

• Andrew Horner (Selsey)

Chief Fire Officer Commendation Awards:

• Laura Mullins (Career/Lifetime Achievement Award)
• Anton Mezzone (Shining Star)
• Matthew Whatley (Shining Star)
• Jordie O’Hara (Shining Star)
• Protection Team (Team of the Year)
• Sam Isted (The Community and Partnership Award)
• Tom Williams (The Community and Partnership Award)
• Charlie Welling (The Community and Partnership Award)
• Broadwater Carnival Society (Charity Champion)
• Michelle Arundale (Volunteer of the Year)
• Adam Condell (Exceptional Service)
• Charlie Dallaway (Bravery Award)
• Paula Clarke (Chief Fire O­fficer’s Commendation Award)
• Spencer Aston (Chief Fire O­fficer’s Commendation Award)