Fire protection officer who rescued man from burning building among those recognised at Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service Excellence Awards 2025
A Cambridge fire protection officer who dragged a man out of a burning house while off duty at a family event has been awarded the Chief Fire Officer Commendation for Bravery.
Joanne Shippey was one of a host of individuals recognised at the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service’s annual Excellence Awards, which included recognition for firefighters and staff at all stages of their careers.
Joanne was at a family gathering late last year when she was alerted to smoke from a neighbouring property. She immediately took charge, getting someone to call 999 while she investigated and attempted to gain access to the house.
The householder’s son arrived after receiving a call via an Alexa device that the elderly relative had managed to use.
Once the door was open, Jo was beaten back by thick black smoke. But she was not deterred and entered the house with a relative, managing to locate the man and drag him to safety. He was conscious and breathing when he was pulled out and was taken off to hospital.
Sadly, the man died in hospital a few days later but his family we very grateful to Jo as her actions meant they were able to say their goodbyes and be with him when he passed away.
Chief Fire Officer Matthew Warren said: “We don’t present many commendations like this, as they are reserved for individuals who show incredible bravery or life-saving actions, often having put themselves at risk to do so, which Jo certainly demonstrated during this incident.
“Her family were so impressed to see her in action, the way she remained calm and took control of the situation, right down to ensuring the young children were taken inside so as not to witness anything. They are so proud of her and so are we and we are delighted to present her with this commendation for bravery.”
The awards ceremony, at the Delta Hotel by Marriott in Huntingdon, recognised the outstanding accomplishments during the year and acknowledged those who had served for 20 years or more.
Mr Warren hosted the ceremony with Deputy Chief Fire Officer Jon Anderson, Assistant Director Hayley Douglas and Assistant Chief Fire Officer Stuart Smith, in front of around 150 guests.
The Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, Julie Spence, handed over the Long Service and Good Conduct medals, which were presented under a Royal Warrant for members of the uniformed service after completing 20 years of long and meritorious service to the fire and rescue service and the public. Mrs Spence also handed over long service awards for those reaching milestones in their service.
Mr Warren said: “Our Excellence Awards event is genuinely one of the highlights of the year. It is all about our people, recognising the good work they have done and the selfless commitment they have given the Service and our communities. It’s our people that make our service what it is.
“I am humbled every day by the commitment, flexibility, innovation and dedication that our people demonstrate, day in, day out. I really do think it is our people that makes Cambridgeshire stand out from the rest, and the achievements we celebrate today are just the tip of the iceberg of all the great work that goes on across the Service.
“Being able to celebrate our employees’ achievements in this way would not be possible without the continued support of our sponsors. I must say a big thank you to all the organisations that contributed to the evening.”
Sponsorship from TruckEast, Scania, Supply Plus, Crofton Engineering, Allinson, Interspiro, Emergency One and Hunter Apparel Solutions paid for the event.
Long Service and Good Conduct medal recipients
Awarded after completing 20 years' long and meritorious service to the fire and rescue service and the public.
Ben Anstee – Cambridge and Cottenham fire stations
Tony Bird – March Fire Station
Philip Coates – Stanground Fire Station
Louise Halsall – Kimbolton Fire Station
Daniel Thacker – Ramsey Fire Station
Simon Thompson – Head of Operations and Fire Protection
Christine Warren – Combined Fire Control
Tirzah Warton – Combined Fire Control
Jeff Whitlam – Fire Protection
Long Service presentations
20 years’ service:
Nicky Hoad – Communications Equipment Project Manager, Huntingdon
Nicola Smith – Business Intelligence and Performance Manager, Huntingdon
30 years’ service:
Tim Carr – Wisbech Fire Station
Ray Constant – Sawtry Fire Station
Phil Pilbeam – Wisbech Fire Station
Graham George – Huntingdon Fire Station
Andy Jones – St Neots Fire Station
Gary Reach – Wisbech Fire Station
Bob Smith – St Neots Fire Station
Fire Authority Chair's Award
Presented to staff that have recently retired or left the Service having completed at least 25 years' service.
Alex Chrysanthou – Chatteris Fire Station
Karen Garrard – Commercial team, Huntingdon
Philip Pilbeam – Wisbech Fire Station
Chris Strickland – Chief Fire Officer, Huntingdon
Excellence Award Winners
For their contributions to the implementation of the new mobilising system (Systel):
Community Safety Officer Lily Wilkanowski – for consistently going above and beyond in her role.
Learning and Organisational Development partners Laura Boucher and Kelly Addy – for their diligent, professional and passionate approach to learning and development and commitment to improve, listen and make changes.
Firefighter Lucy Tomlinson – for the dedication, time and effort shown in organising successful events at Burwell fire station this year.
Asset Database Systems Administrator George Kidd – for making an outstanding contribution to improving processes including MiQuest.
Training Centre Instructor Support Technician Kevin Partridge – for his outstanding contribution to the Training Centre for over 21 years.
The Training Centre Team – for going above and beyond to deliver the Service’s first internal Wholetime Firefighter Course.
Paul Clarke, Odette Tattersall and Sharon Ward from Community Fire Safety Prevention team – for the development of the Firebreak Scheme which stands as an exemplary intervention aimed at reducing youth violence and anti-social behaviour in the community.
Former Community Road Safety Officer Kathleen Bowman and PC Nick Southern – for developing and delivering the Older Drivers Workshops providing road safety advice to drivers aged 65 and over.
External Award (certificate of commendation) - Fenland District Council
For allowing an on-call firefighter to respond from work for more than 20 years, as well as providing buildings for training exercises.
External Award (certificate of commendation) - Jenny Wright, Peterborough City Council
For continued collaboration with the Service across many years supporting our road safety activities in Peterborough.
Chief Fire Officer Commendation for Bravery
Joanne Shippey – for rescuing a man from a house fire while at a family party.
Silver Axe presentations
For each new recruits course, one member is chosen by the training team to win this award for demonstrating high levels of skill and leadership or for their personal journey.
Owain Collard from Huntingdon Fire Station was presented with a Silver Axe for being the top performing recruit during his initial wholetime recruits course.
On-call firefighters Max Mitzman, from Ely Fire Station, Robin Ellis, from Sawtry Fire Station, and Charlie Hadden, from Kimbolton Fire Station, were presented with their Silver Axe awards for being the stand-out recruits during their initial training courses.
