Oxfordshire Chief Fire Officer rewarded in New Year’s Honours
Oxfordshire resident and County Council Chief Fire Officer, Rob MacDougall is being rewarded for over 25 years of service to public safety with a King’s Fire Service Medal in the New Year’s Honours.
His contributions to the Thames Valley Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) and leadership during times of crisis, as well as his ongoing voluntary work and commitment to equality and diversity were highlighted as notable examples of his exemplary work over the years.
Oxfordshire County Council’s Director of Community Safety and Chief Fire Officer Rob said: "I am honoured to be receiving this medal; it is a testament to all of the dedicated and courageous teams that I have the privilege to work with every day that protect our community by reducing harm and saving lives.
“I am deeply humbled to be acknowledged in this way and, I am very grateful to have a career where I get to work with amazing people, where doing a good job means that people are safer."
He is recognised for his charity work with the World and United Kingdom Rescue Organisation, helping to train over 3,000 Ghanaian Fire Service professionals since 2004.
Councillor Dr Nathan Ley, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health, Inequalities and Safety, said: “In his time as Chief Fire Officer, Rob has been a superb ambassador for the service, the county council, the county, and the sector as a whole.
“He has shown true leadership above and beyond from his command in response to crisis and incidents, such as the Didcot Power Station collapse in 2016, to work with young people with the VRU, his support for the LGBT+ community, and passion for equality.
“We’re all absolutely delighted that Rob is being recognised for all his efforts over the years, and we’re so grateful for his commitment to Oxfordshire. A very well deserved award, congratulations!”
Rob is currently chair of the Safer Oxfordshire Partnership and the Thames Valley Violence Prevention Partnership (VPP), which was established in 2019. Since it’s inception, the Thames Violence Reduction Unit, which is governed by the VPP, has engaged with 2,400 individuals through the various programmes such as hospital navigators and school navigators and undertaken 766 interventions.
He has held many National Fire Chiefs Council roles and is currently leading the People, Culture and Leadership committee. His previous national leadership roles include apprenticeship programme lead officer and on-call firefighter lead.