Fire Service celebrates volunteers and new accreditation

A volunteer recognition evening was held at HIWFRS Fire Headquarters in Eastleigh on Tuesday 28 March.

The event was held to celebrate the 102 volunteers that currently support HIWFRS as well as to mark the Service’s new ‘Investing in Volunteers’ accreditation.

Volunteers and their families were invited to join HIWFRS colleagues, local dignitaries and senior officers to celebrate the impact volunteers have on the Service and to share some of their first-hand experiences of volunteering.

Volunteer Graham Urwin who has been volunteering with HIWFRS for four years said:

“I’ve always been treated like a member of the Service which means a great deal to me. I enjoy the camaraderie with other volunteers and colleagues, and I appreciate being valued and included.

“It’s been extremely rewarding to participate in a wide array of activities which gives me personal satisfaction through helping to make a difference in our communities.”

The HIWFRS Volunteer Programme began in 2010 and the Service currently has 102 volunteers including members of the community, current operational firefighters, retired and ex-firefighters. They help to run the Fire Cadet units, promote fire safety at community events, deliver home fire safety visits (safe and well), support the Prince’s Trust programme, run New Forest wildfire prevention patrols, act as casualties during training exercises and many other tasks.

In the past (financial) year, HWFRS volunteers have contributed over 7,000 hours of their time to support the Service and the wider community.

Volunteer Programme Manager Lee Joss said:

“It’s been an honour and a privilege to be involved in the HIWFRS Volunteer programme. I’ve met some truly amazing people and I’m very proud of all our volunteers who bring many qualities to the organisation.

“They enable us to further our reach and enhance the service we provide to our communities by providing additional capacity. My sincere thanks to all the volunteers and their families who enable them to give so much time and commitment to the Service.”

During the ceremony Deputy Lieutenant for Hampshire, Tom Floyd, Esq. presented all the volunteers with recognition badges to mark their length of service of 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 years.

The Deputy Lieutenant then presented Assistant Chief Fire Officer ACFO Stewart Adamson with an ‘Investing in Volunteers’ plaque which he collected on behalf of the Service.

HIWFRS recently received the Investing in Volunteers Accreditation which is the UK quality standard for good practice in volunteer management. This accolade provides the Service with a framework to demonstrate the quality of volunteer management and involvement, and to both prove and pledge to improve the effectiveness of their work with volunteers. The ‘Investing in Volunteers’ accreditation application was supported by 3SFire, a Community Interest Company wholly owned by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire Authority.

ACFO Stewart Adamson said:

“We appreciate all the work that’s gone into achieving this accreditation and to recognising our volunteer programme.

“Thank you to our volunteers – it has been incredible to listen to the breadth of work that you do, the commitment that you give, and the impact of this. You assist us in our goal of ‘making life safer’.”

ACFO Stewart Adamson gave thanks to the Deputy Lieutenant, Fire Authority members, the Fire Fighters Charity and Health Assured. He also gave thanks to 3SFire and ExxonMobil who sponsor HIWFRS volunteer activities.

Find out more about volunteering with HIWFRS