Posted: Monday 17 December 2018, 15:58
On Sunday 16 December 2018, Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service welcomed 17 new On-Call Firefighters at a Pass-Out Ceremony attended by over 70 of their closest family and friends.
Following several weeks of training, spread over many weekends, the newest additions to the Service were formally recognised and welcomed by Derbyshire’s Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Gavin Tomlinson, before embarking on careers as On-Call Firefighters in development at fire stations across Derbyshire.
Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Chief Fire Officer Gavin Tomlinson said: “A Pass-Out Ceremony is a special occasion for everyone as we celebrate our newest On-Call Firefighters and mark the beginning of the next phase of their Fire Service career.
“Becoming an On-Call Firefighter is a big commitment, being available to respond to a pager at a moment’s notice, ready to respond to all manner of emergency incidents. This would not be possible without the support of family, therefore it’s an honour to welcome not only our newest Firefighters, but also their families here today.
“Each of our new Firefighters has received the highest possible level of training from a dedicated team of professionals, and I am confident that this will stand them in good stead as they join fire stations across the county.
“I wish them every success as they enter what I know to be a challenging, yet rewarding career.”
The 17 new recruits will take up posts at the following fire stations: Bakewell, Belper, Buxton, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Dronfield, Glossop, Hathersage, Ilkeston, Long Eaton, Melbourne, Ripley, Shirebrook, Whaley Bridge and Wirksworth.
For every course there is a Silver Axe awarded to the trainee who has consistently achieved a high standard both in the technical and practical aspects of the course from the first day. The individuals have also shown a high level of commitment and teamwork, displaying an excellent attitude and work ethic. As this pass-out ceremony was combined for two courses, there were two Silver Axes awarded. Firefighter Bethan Kent, who will be based at Buxton Fire Station was awarded one of the Silver Axe Awards and Firefighter Della Matthews who will be based at Belper Fire Station, was awarded the second Silver Axe.For more information about the rewarding role of an On-Call Firefighter visit www.oncallfire.uk
L-R: Firefighter (FF) – FF Daniel Winn (Bakewell),
FF Joshua Taylor (Buxton), Deputy Chief Fire Officer Gavin Tomlinson, FF Katie
Russell (Hathersage), FF Niall Rhodes, FF Robert Scott (Dronfield), FF Bethan
Kent (Buxton).
L-R Back Row: FF Luke Lyons (Ilkeston), FF Luke Milner (Melbourne), Deputy Chief Fire Officer Gavin Tomlinson, FF Rachel Rice (Ripley), FF Simon Wathall (Chapel-en-le-Frith), FF Jonathan Ross (Whaley Bridge), FF Della Matthews (Belper)
Front Row: FF Oliver Mappin (Hathersage), FF Kallum Lucid (Glossop), FF John Johnson (Wirksworth), FF Lee Bonfield (Long Eaton), FF Daniel own (Shirebrook)
Silver Axe Winners with Deputy Chief Fire Officer Gavin Tomlinson: L-R: FFDella Matthews (Belper) and FF Bethan Kent (Buxton)