Her Majesty the Queen has announced this year's Birthday Honours list - and a number of people from fire services across the country have received an accolade, recognising their dedication.

NFCC Chair Roy Wilsher, said:

“Once again it is wonderful to see so many people from fire services being recognised by Her Majesty the Queen. I am delighted to see the wide range of people who have been honoured this year; recognising their hard work and commitment to making a difference to people’s lives, as well as their contribution to the fire service.

“I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to all those who have received an honour. You should all be very proud of this achievement, you are a credit to your service and the sector as a whole.”

 

Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

  • Paul Hancock (Lately) Chief Fire Officer Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service

 

Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

  • Veronica Adlam, Health and Safety Manager, Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue Service. For services to Firefighter Safety
  • Aghia Singh Pal, Engineer Infrastructure, West Midlands Fire Service. For services to charity and the community

 

Medal of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)

  • David John Arlott, Watch Manager, Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service
  • Graham Ayres, Firefighter, Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service, For services to the Fire Service and the community
  • Martin Lown, Group Commander, Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service. For services to The Fire Fighters Charity
  • William Robert Caskey, Watch Commander, Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service. For services to the community
  • George Clarke McLaughlin, Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service, For services to the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade and voluntary service to the community in Limavady

 

Queen's Fire Service Medal for Distinguished Service (QFSM)

  • Malcolm Livingston Cowie, (Lately), Watch Manager, Kent Fire & Rescue Service
  • Mark Hardingham, Chief Fire Officer, Suffolk Fire & Rescue Service and NFCC Chair of Protection Coordination Committee
  • Joanne Stephens, Watch Manager, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service
  • Jeremy Peter Leonard, Response Management Team, Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service
  • Paul Hedley, Chief Fire Officer, Northumberland Fire & Rescue Service and NFCC Wildfire lead
  • John Joyce, Area Manager, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
  • John Dickie, Assistant Chief Officer, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

 

The honours system recognises people who have made achievements in public life, committed themselves to serving and helping Britain. People receiving the honours would have been nominated for having made life better for other people, or for being outstanding at what they do.

The decision about whether someone gets an honour and what they receive is taken by an honours committee. The committee’s decision go to the Prime Minister and then to the Queen, who awards the honour.