Faringdon,
25
June
2019
|
16:08
Europe/London

British Empire Medal for Faringdon watch manager Dave Arlott

Following HM The Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2019, the Chief Fire Officer and Director of Community Safety is pleased to announce that one of ‘Oxfordshire’s own’ has been awarded with an honour.

Recognising the service of extraordinary people

The full list of honours recognise the achievements and service of extraordinary people across the United Kingdom. It consists of knights and dames, appointments to the Order of the British Empire and gallantry awards to servicemen and women, and civilians.

Oxfordshire’s Watch Manager David Arlott from Faringdon Fire Station, has been awarded by Her Majesty The Queen with a British Empire Medal (BEM).

BEM’s are awarded to individuals for their 'hands-on' service to their local community,long-term charitable or voluntary activity and innovative work that has made a significant difference.

Councillor Judith Heathcoat commented: “I have represented the Faringdon Division as their County Councillor for just over 22 years and Dave Arlott has always been a constant!

“His unswerving loyalty and devotion to Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, his fellow fire fighter colleagues and the local community are absolute! Dave also has a friendly approachable nature and is always in the front row helping and supporting local fund raising events with his fire fighter colleagues he fully deserves this honour.”

A well deserved award for devotion to Faringdon's fire station

WM Dave Arlott, has been and remains committed to providing an outstanding service to his local community for the last 28 years. Chief Fire Officer Simon Furlong said: “On behalf of the Service, I would like to congratulate Dave on his well-deserved award. He is devoted to his local fire station and as Chief Fire Officer, I know that without Dave’s commitment and drive, the Fire Station in Faringdon would not be as professional and undertake all of the charitable and voluntary activities that it does currently under his leadership.”

Yvonne Rees, Chief Executive of the County Council also congratulates WM Arlott by saying: “I am incredibly thrilled that Dave’s outstanding dedication to not only his community, but the County of Oxfordshire has been appropriately recognised. Dave is an On Call Watch Manager and his commitment has made a significant difference to the lives of so many. His determination and hard work are truly inspirational - congratulations to Dave on this richly deserved award.”

WM Arlott is the officer in charge of Faringdon Fire Station, he always puts the needs of other first, tirelessly leading his personnel and setting an outstanding example of community spirit. The Strategic Leadership Team at Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service commented that Dave has successfully ensured that his crew members represent society and he is credited with having the first all-female fire crew in the county. This clearly demonstrates his ability and willingnesss to work with all of his community.

Firefighter Beata Maciorowska commented “Without the support of Dave, I would have been unable to balance my childcare needs with continuing to serve as a Firefighter in Faringdon.”

A pleasure to serve the community

Dave himself explained: “I was shocked and very honoured when I found out about the award as there’s many people in the fire and rescue service who, in my view, deserve this sort of recognition.

“Of course I am delighted to receive the BEM as I have lived in Faringdon all of my life and it has been a pleasure to serve the community. I have put in 30 years service so far and as long as I keep passing my fitness tests I plan to keep going for a few more years yet.”

As an on-call firefighter Dave manages his fire-fighting duties alongside his other job as a machine-operator. When on duty, being on-call means that he has to be able to respond and get to the station in a matter of minutes – something that requires a high level of dedication.

He explained: “You have to be able to get to the station and be on our way to the incident within five minutes of being alerted, so it is a big commitment, not just for me but also for my family. But I would not have it any other way and have my family to thank for me being able to serve for so many years.”

Without the leadership clearly demonstrated by Dave, Faringdon Fire Station would not be the high-performing, reliable and resilient unit that is widely recognised for by its community today. Congratulations to Watch Manager David Arlott for his richly deserved award, he is known by his colleagues to be great ambassador and advocate for the Fire and Rescue Service.