Firefighters honoured at Mayor of Havering’s Civic Awards
London Fire Brigade firefighters have been recognised for their contributions to Havering following last year’s devastating Wennington Fires at the Mayor’s Civic Awards 2023.
The Mayor of Havering, Councillor Trevor McKeever, a retired firefighter, with 30 years of service, presented the awards at a ceremony on 19 April 2023 at Havering Town Hall.
Those recognised for the Leadership, Devotion to Duty and Meritorious Service Awards were:
- Paul McClenaghan, Havering Borough Commander and Incident Commander
- Alex Strand, Station Commander Romford and Harold Hill
- Graham Beers, Station Commander Wennington and Hornchurch
- Alan Furlong, Station Officer from Dagenham Red Watch
- Dagenham firefighters from Red Watch
- Romford firefighters from Red Watch
- Harold Hill firefighters from Red Watch.
- Hornchurch firefighters from Red Watch
- Wennington firefighters from Red Watch
- Pan-London firefighters who attended the fires at Wennington
The Mayor of Havering, Councillor Trevor McKeever, said:
“It is a great honour and a privilege to welcome London Fire Brigade crews and to present them with much deserved awards.
“As a borough, we acknowledge the dedication of the fire crews who responded so valiantly to the devastating fires at Wennington Village last summer.
“We will always look back on that tragic day with shock and horror but thanks to the fire crews’ professionalism and heroic actions it meant no lives were lost on 19 July 2023.”
Spencer Sutcliff, Assistant Commissioner for Fire Stations, London Fire Brigade, said:
“Last summer was one of the busiest ever for the Brigade, with extreme temperatures bringing unprecedented impact across the capital.
“Our firefighters demonstrated excellent courage and vital teamwork as they battled fire after fire, and importantly, they were soundly supported by staff from across the service.
“We are incredibly humbled by this award and are proud of the role that we played protecting our communities, but our focus is on ensuring we are prepared for similar incidents of extreme weather that London will inevitably face.”
Paul McClenaghan, Borough Commander for Havering, said:
"We would like to thank the Mayor for his support and for recognising our efforts.
"For a lot of my firefighters, Havering is where they live and each and every one of them stood up to be counted.
"Our borough was one of, if not the busiest in London, with huge resources thrown towards fires in Wennington and Upminster, in addition to the countless other incidents attended by crews.
"Despite the devastation these fires brought to our community, I’m proud of the spirit that has been shown by firefighters, officers, our cadets, emergency service colleagues and residents since.
"It has brought the best out of everyone, such as helping to clear debris after the fires and when we opened our station doors in Wennington for Halloween."