Community firefighter in East Yorkshire recognised by Queen

Tony Clark (centre) received an award from Humberside Fire and Rescue Service and his employers Howden Joinery

The organiser of a community firefighting scheme which has saved 60 lives has been recognised for his work.

Tony Clark set up the group a decade ago at the factory where he works, after the fire service was unable to immediately respond to a blaze there.

Now, nine staff at Howdens Joinery in East Yorkshire are part of the on-call scheme and have responded to more than 2,500 calls in the last 10 years.

Mr Clark, 52, said he was "privileged" to get the Queen's Fire Service Medal.

"I do accept it on behalf of the rest of my colleagues in the fire and rescue service and certainly the team I work with in the on-call scheme at Howden," he said.

Mr Clark was an on-call firefighter in North Yorkshire for 10 years before setting up the scheme at the kitchen manufacturer.

As well as dealing with incidents inside the factory, the team of volunteers supports the local fire station during evenings and weekends and has attended 1,791 fire calls and 1,037 medical calls.

Mr Clark said he was keen to encourage other companies to start similar schemes.

"The model we've got really does work," he said.

"It does support the local station. It supports all the community engagement and then while we're actually here on site with the skills we've got, we're an emergency response team on site."

As well as tackling fires and accidents, Mr Clark and his colleagues also deal with medical emergencies, acting as first responders with the support of the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

During the pandemic, the team has worked to distribute more than four million items of PPE and Covid tests across the region.

In addition to the recognition from the Queen, he has also been given an award from Humberside Fire and Rescue Service and his employers to recognise his decade-long service.