Congratulations to the winners of the Excellence in Fire & Emergency Awards 2025

Congratulations to all the winners of the Excellence in Fire & Emergency Awards 2025 – the celebration of innovative working practices, initiatives, partnerships and technology in the fire and emergency services.

The annual Excellence in Fire and Emergency Awards brought together leaders, innovators, industry specialists and frontline professionals from across the UK for a prestigious afternoon of recognition and celebration in the heart of Westminster. Held in the stunning Great Hall at One Great George Street, the event shone a spotlight on individuals, teams, organisations, and Fire Services who have demonstrated exceptional dedication, resilience, and impact within the fire and emergency services sector.

Guests were welcomed with a vibrant drinks reception, offering an ideal opportunity for networking and reconnecting with colleagues from across the country. A beautifully prepared three-course meal followed, before the ceremony commenced and the winners of the 17 award categories were announced live on stage.

This year’s event once again highlighted the extraordinary efforts undertaken every day to protect and serve communities, as well as the innovation and collaboration driving the sector forward. The atmosphere was one of pride, gratitude, and inspiration as award recipients were honoured for their outstanding contributions.

The roll of honour for the 2025 awards:

 

Emergency Service of the Year

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service

Sponsored by – Dräger

 

Resilience & Learning from Major Incidents

Communications and Engagement Team

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service

Sponsored by – iTrackPPE

 

Excellence in Contaminants & Decontamination

Firefighter Decontamination Team

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

 Sponsored by – Vimpex

 

Innovation of the Year

Prevention and Delivery Team

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service

Sponsored by – PGI

 

Collaboration of the Year

Prevention in Prisons Programme

 Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service

Sponsored by – Frequentis

 

Emergency Services Collaboration of the Year

Exercise Cerberus

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service

Sponsored by – Emergency Services Times

 

Training Provider of the Year

Celine Gallagher

Avon Fire and Rescue Service

Sponsored by – IFSM

 

Project of the Year

On Call Improvement Programme

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service

Sponsored by – Safety Components

 

Team of the Year

The Prevention Youth & Education Team

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service

Sponsored by – Fire Knowledge Executive Recruitment

 

Youth Champion of the Year

Anji Hesketh

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service

Sponsored by – Women in the Fire Service UK

 

Neurodiversity Champion of the Year

Daniel Foster

London Fire Brigade

Sponsored by – Fike

 

Most Influential Woman in Fire

Lucy Macleod

London Fire Brigade

Sponsored by – GORE-TEX

 

Most Influential LGBTQIA+ Individual in Fire

Dan Blessington

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service

Sponsored by – Greenfire Solutions

 

International Best Practice

Mehrban Sadiq

International Emergency Team UK

Sponsored by – IFE

 

Most Influential Ethnic Minority Individual in Fire

Yasarian Murfin

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service

Sponsored by – AFSA

 

Outstanding Contribution to the Fire and Rescue Service

Robert Scott

Sponsored by – pbi

 

Unsung Hero

Pete Wakefield

The Firefighters Podcast

Sponsored by – MSA

 

FIRE magazine publisher Fire Knowledge would like to thank all the sponsors, without whom none of this would have been possible: BT for sponsoring the drinks reception, De-Wipe for sponsoring the chocolates, the Institute of Fire Safety Managers, Safety Components, Women in the Fire Service, Frequentis, Emergency Services Times and Emergency Services Show, Institution of Fire Engineers, Asian Fire Service Association, PBI Performance Products, MSA Safety, Drager, iTrackPPE, Vimpex Scandecon, Fike, Fire Knowledge Recruitment and Greenfire Solutions for sponsoring each of the awards. Finally, our biggest thanks go to our Partnership sponsors: GORE-TEX Fabrics and PGI Safety.

Fire Knowledge would like to thank the awards presenters Chief Fire Officer Louise Harrison and Fire Knowledge Director Dave Etheridge, and the judging panel for the difficult task of sifting through over 140 high-quality entries to reach the shortlist and winners. The judging panel this year was chaired by Peter Holland, Chief Inspector for the Crown Premises Fire Safety Inspectorate. He was joined by Jules King, Chair of Women in the Fire Service; Harjit Singh, Chair of Asian Fire Service Association; FIRE magazine correspondent Sophie Whitfield, and the new Editor of FIRE magazine, Andrew Chilvers.

The chosen charity for this year’s event was the Firefighters Charity.  Describing themselves as the fire family’s charity, they provide lifelong support for the UK fire services community, including current and retired firefighters, support staff, and their families, through physical, mental, and social wellbeing services. Its support includes rehabilitation, physiotherapy, mental health counselling, welfare advice, and access to its three national centres for residential recovery and short breaks.  Please visit firefighterscharity to donate to this invaluable charity.

The team at Fire Knowledge are delighted to confirm that next year’s Excellence in Fire and Emergency Awards will take place on Friday 27th November 2026, with nominations opening in June 2026. Further details will be released in due course.

For more information, please contact the event organisers at [email protected]