A Cumbria firefighter has been invited to a royal garden party later this year in recognition of his long and outstanding service for the county council’s fire and rescue service.
John Bradley has worked as an on-call firefighter for a remarkable 44 years and is the Watch Manager at Bootle Fire Station.
He has previously been awarded the Fire Brigade Long Service and Good Conduct Medal and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and Diamond Jubilee Medals in recognition of his dedication and service to the Fire Service and his local communities.
John said: “I’m really excited to be invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May. The invitation really took me by surprise – I had to read it a few times before it sunk in! I have met the Queen before when she visited the county in 2008 and I was presented to her and Princess Anne.”
As Watch Manager at Bootle Fire Station, John has been instrumental in supporting significant service delivery changes, including implementation of a new style fire engine and the building of a brand new community fire station in the area in 2015.
During his outstanding years of service as an on-call firefighter, John has attended a very wide range of incidents including property fires, road traffic collisions and floods.
He was recognised as someone who continually goes above and beyond to make a difference to the lives of colleagues and his community by winning the unsung hero award for his service and dedication in Cumbria County Council’s Excellence Awards last year.
Steve Healey, Cumbria’s Chief Fire Officer, said: “John thoroughly deserves this recognition for his long and outstanding years of service to Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service. He personifies the values and ethos that are part of the positive culture of Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service and I hope he will inspire others to consider becoming an on-call firefighter in the county.”
Cumbria County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service is currently supporting a national campaign encouraging people to become On-call Firefighters.
The ‘Need More’ awareness week runs from 7th January 2019 and aims to highlight opportunities available in the fire service, while busting myths about what it takes to be a firefighter.
The first-ever national campaign is supported by a website Need More – www.oncallfire.uk – which encourages people to get in touch with their local fire service anytime throughout the year.
Cumbria has 370 On-call Firefighters who are ‘on call’ to respond to a range of emergencies. There are approximately 50 vacancies across the county’s fire stations.
