The first fire crews to respond to the tragic M5 crash in November 2011 have been presented with a brand new medal for exceptional actions in the face of extreme circumstances.
Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service unveiled the new medal at an awards ceremony, sponsored by Norbord Ltd, at its headquarters in Exeter.
It is the first time in its history that the service has minted its own medal, known as the Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service Medal, and reflects the significance of the recipients' actions on the night of November 4, 2011. Seven people died and 51 were injured in the crash, which happened close to Junction 25 of the motorway near Taunton.
The awards were presented by Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenant of Devon, Sir Eric Dancer JP, and Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenant of Somerset, Lady Gass JP.
Chief Fire Officer Lee Howell said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of the people who died and were seriously injured that night.
"It is also important to recognise the actions of our own firefighters who were confronted by a large scale incident with multiple vehicles on fire and several people severely trapped.
"They battled selflessly to try to save those trapped and injured, with some individuals taking great personal risk in doing so.
"The medals recognise their exceptional bravery and we will not forget the support given by family, friends and colleagues following this traumatic incident."
The recipients were members of the initial two crews that attended the incident, Taunton Blue Watch and Taunton Retained.
Over recent years, the service has been at the forefront of several significant emergency incidents – notably the tragic M5 crash and wide-scale flooding - which have captured both the public and media interest on a national level.
Whilst these incidents are not unique, they are, for some personnel, exceptional and challenging operational situations the like of which many firefighters may not experience during their entire careers.
Chief Fire Officer's Commendations were also presented to other firefighters who attended the M5 crash and to those who dealt with other life-threatening incidents.
Firefighters and support staff who were involved in the major flooding incidents on the Somerset Levels and at Dawlish were awarded Chief Fire Officer's Letters of Commendation.
Long service and good conduct medals were awarded to firefighters and support staff who had completed at least 20 years' service with good conduct.
The award recipients are as follows:
Devon & Somerset Medal
For exceptional actions in the face of extreme circumstances during the M5 incident
WM Paul (Bill) Williams (all from Taunton)
CM Wayne Withey
Ff Shaun Mockridge
Ff Geoffrey Frances
Ff Steven Bayliss
CM Simon Nicholls
Ff David Lock
CM Darren Mockridge
Ff Christopher Hall
Ff Timothy Padfield
Ff Jeremy Rawlings
Ff Richard Stone
Chief Fire Officer's Commendations
For demonstrating meritorious conduct when faced with challenging circumstances during the M5 incident
GM Paul Cregan, Somerset Command
GM Peter Smith, Group Support Team, Western Command
WM Gary Leigh, Glastonbury
CM Jason Vernon, Wellington
Ff Luke Tier, Bridgwater
Ff Grant Lewis, Bridgwater
Ff Luke Miller, Bridgwater
Ff Keith Tucker, Bridgwater
Nominated representative: Firefighter (Control) Cat Fairhurst, on behalf of the Control personnel who dealt with the incident
Hammett Street Consultants: Vanessa Davies, Bronwen Hughes and Mike Bellew, for supporting staff following the incident
Chief Fire Officer's Commendations for other incidents
For the rescue of a man trapped beneath a tree on 16 November 2013, Otterton
Firefighters Scott Eley, Ian Johnston, Peter Watson and Pete Trapnell
For a house fire rescue on 9 February 2014 in Torquay
James Boitoult and Stephen Mitchell
PC Ben Bickford and PC David Richards
For saving the life of a member of the public on 20 February 2014
Firefighters Robert Davey and Stephen Pike
Raising funds for charity - Hope for Children, the 29th Marathon Des Sables
GM Paul Cross, SM Danny Slay and WM Matt Mason
For exceptional service to the Retained Firefighters' Union
Tom Radford
Chief Fire Officer's Letters of Commendation
To recognise the significant contribution the recipients made to the work surrounding the flooding incidents on the Somerset Levels and at Dawlish
Chris Thain
Hazel Gruber
Kevin Hardwill
Wayne Bowcock
Alex Hanson
Daren Cripps
Gavin Ellis
Paul Slaven
Mike Toop
Giles White
Tracy Baitup (Taunton Deane Manager)
Representatives for the following stations:
Exmouth
Sidmouth
Honiton
Wellington
Taunton
Bridgwater
USAR
Dawlish
Teignmouth
NRAT
Long service and good conduct medals
Firefighter Paul Allford – Totnes
Firefighter Ian Bolton - Yeovil
Watch Manager Timothy Broom - Group Support Team, Western Command
Station Manager Shaun Davis - Group Support Team at Plymouth
Watch Manager John Donovan - Okehampton
Crew Manager David Harvey - Kingsbridge
Firefighter Jason Hawkins - Wellington
Watch Manager Christopher Hope - Lynton
Crew Manager Michael Keal - Wiveliscombe
Crew Manager (Control) Kathryn Lewis – Control, SHQ
Crew Manager Jason Newcombe - Budleigh Salterton
Crew Manager Christopher Pearce - Bridgwater
Crew Manager Simon Rendle - Dartmouth
Firefighter David Roberts - Exeter Danes Castle
Firefighter Ian Rodger - Somerton
Temporary Group Manager Andrew Rowse - Service Headquarters.
Station Manager Mark Shaddick - Training Academy
Crew Manager Paul Wellington - Yeovil
Watch Manager Scott Wilson - Service Headquarters
Wendy Richmond - Service Headquarters
Sean Smith – Chelston
Helen Wilkes - Bideford
Extended Leadership Programme certificates
Chris Bridgeman
Phil Martin
