Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service - review of the year 2015

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2015 the year in which:

In January the Service was praised by leading gay charity Stonewall as the north west’s best performing public sector organisation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) staff and Nepal Sherpa Dawa Geljen flew in to visit the cadets and leaders going to Nepal later in the year.

February was awash with cars on station yards as crews supported the Fire Fighters’ Charity via the 11th annual charity car wash and the High Sheriff of Cheshire was given a tour of North West Fire Control by CFO Paul Hancock.

March saw the presentation of Long Service Good Conduct medals at Eaton Hall and Runcorn firefighters began their Hearts on Fire campaign which helped the station win a national HeartSafe award.

In April the ISAR team was deployed to Nepal to help after the devastating earthquake and iconic Warrington nightclub Mr Smiths was destroyed by a fire attended by over 50 firefighters. It was also in this month that Warrington firefighter Graham Green became London Marathon’s fastest ever veteran runner.

On his return from Nepal in May, the Service’s ISAR dog Bryn put away his passport, retiring from international duties. The joint open day with Cheshire Police was a great success with almost 6,500 visitors. Several crews tackled a blaze at a former nursing home in Bollington.

The warm June weather ensured a successful Cheshire Show with thousands of people visiting the stand and our Road Safety team celebrated the 20,000th student to the 15th anniversary Think, Drive, Survive course.

The biggest incident in recent Service history happened in July with the devastating explosion at Bosley Wood Mill which claimed the lives of four workers. The Fire Cadets held their annual Cadet Celebration event, attended by the Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire.

August was when the newest fire station at Alsager opened and Devotion was the theme for Manchester Pride, with the Service once again taking part in the parade with the pink fire engine.

In September the Service was awarded Marmot Partnership status, one of only three services in the UK to have received the award in recognition of partnership work to reduce health inequalities. We moved a step closer to our ambition of a safer Cheshire when construction started on Penketh Fire Station.

October found 24 fire cadets and leaders trekking through the Himalayas to help build a school in a Nepali village.  Meanwhile on the M56, crews dealt with an overturned tanker containing potentially hazardous chemicals which caused major traffic disruption.

On bonfire night in November crews were called out to 80 incidents between midday and midnight. In Warrington, there was a building fire involving potential low-level radiation materials at a Birchwood company.

The Emergency Services Carol Concert at Chester Cathedral heralded December with a performance by the Service choir and three Prince’s Trust Team graduations took the number of students graduating in 2015 to 173.

Last updated: Tuesday 05 January 2016