Kidwelly Fire Station thanks local businesses

On Tuesday 7th March crew members from Kidwelly Fire Station presented three local businesses with a plaque and letter of thanks from Roger Thomas, Chief Fire Officer of Mid & West Wales Fire & Rescue Service (MAWWFRS), to thank them for their ongoing support in allowing employees to be released for operational incidents, as and when required.

The first stop was to IWEC Electrical Services of Glangwendraeth Farm, Kidwelly. Where Station Manager Sian Davies, SLO Emyr Davies and Watch Manager Matthew Cray presented the plaque and letter to Managing Director Mark Williams for enabling On-Call Firefighter Sophie Williams to leave work and attend any incidents at short notice.

Their second presentation of the day took them to Gwenllian Education Centre, Kidwelly where not one, but two employees are currently supported to leave their primary employment when their On-Call pagers are actuated. Both Tim Church and Rhys Fitzgerald are employees of Reflect Education situated in the Gwenllian Education Centre, just two doors down from Kidwelly Station. The plaque and accompanying letter were presented to Centre Manager Leigh Hipkiss, who was completely unaware that the presentation was about to happen. Whilst Leigh was unprepared for the recognition, he was extremely grateful for the kind gesture.

The final presentation led them to Gravells, Kidwelly, where Watch Manager Matthew Cray completes his day job. A letter of thanks was presented to both Matthew’s Manager, Kevin Evans, and Managing Director Jonathan Gravell. Kevin accepted the letter on behalf of Managing Director Jonathan Gravell, as he was unable to attend on the day. Kevin was very pleased to receive the acknowledgement to the company, stating “it’s the little things like this that make your actions feel appreciated.”

A special mention should also be given to Burns of Kidwelly who has also previously supported the release of their employees from work duties for operational incidents.

Kidwelly is an On Call fire station in the heart of a bustling and vibrant community. It is vital that On-Call firefighters can attend operational incidents as quickly as they possibly can and therefore having businesses local to the station that can be accommodating to these demands is critical.

Chief Fire Officer Roger Thomas said:

“The Service appreciates that this can have an impact at times however without the support of local businesses, we would be unable to provide a resilient response to our local community.”

If you are considering applying to become an On-Call firefighter but unsure of what it entails, why not pop along to Kidwelly fire station – Show and Tell Recruitment Day on Sunday, 12^th March between 11am – 4pm. There will be live demonstrations, recruitment information, refreshments, and an opportunity to meet and greet the staff -and of course a very warm welcome!

For more information about On-Call recruitment with Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, please visit: On-call Recruitment – Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service (mawwfire.gov.uk)