15 December, 2023
Tenbury High Ormiston Academy (THOA) has been awarded the Employer award from Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS) for their support for on-call firefighters.
The Tenbury Wells academy has been recognised by HWFRS for their work as a supportive and flexible employer as part of the annual at the annual Herefordshire Medals and Awards Ceremony.
Held at the Town Hall, Hereford, the ceremony celebrated outstanding service and commitment to the fire service including by staff and the local community. Oli and Todd, retained firefighters for the Tenbury Wells Fire Station, and colleagues at THOA nominated the school in recognition of its work to enable the community firefighters to cover local fire and rescue service.
Through the partnership, Todd and Oli are able to be on hand to support with any emergencies, even during school hours, whenever their pager is called. They commit to specific hours in the school to ensure it is ready for staff and students and make up any additional time in the holidays.
Thanks to THOA’s help as an employer, Oli has been able to gain a driving qualification and has been recently promoted to Crew Commander. Todd also holds his Incident Command Ticket, meaning he is able to develop an action plan to mitigate incidents quickly and safely. Between the two of them, they can both be in charge of a crew – dramatically increasing life-saving availability at the local station.
The pair each provide across 120 hours of cover a week, ensuring that the fire engine in Tenbury Wells is on-hand to support the community as much as possible. As a result of their extra commitment and dedication, the average availability for the fire engine is at 97%, one of the highest in the service. As part of their work, the retained firefighters attend road traffic collisions, water rescues, and fires with about 200 incidents a year. The elite fire and rescue service supports the community with a rescue pump, Environmental Protection Unit (EPU), and a Welfare Vehicle, which are all crucial in emergency provision.
Alongside this, Todd and Oli’s work has been a huge part of supporting THOA’s events, including attending career events to talk through the profession, teaching the children how to do kit runs, use fire hoses, and build dams using professional kit from the fire engine which the academy says students have been really excited about getting stuck into.
Speaking on the nomination, Oli said, “I’m genuinely chuffed THOA won as no one will fully appreciate how much it means to Todd and me to be released and it was just a little way of saying thank you.”
Vicki Dean, principal said, “We are so proud that Tenbury High has been nominated for and won this really important award with our colleagues. We are committed to creating positive and supportive working environments for all our colleagues and this is testament to that.
“We think it is so inspiring that Todd and Oli work as retained firefighters and really see how much our school and students benefits from their important work.”
Category: News
Tags: Employer award 2023, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, HWFRS, Tenbury High Ormiston Academy, THOA
