Hucknall firefighter honoured at annual Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service awards

Marcus Pratt, who has been an on-call firefighter in Hucknall for more than a decade, won the Collaboration Award for his work on developing the firefighter apprenticeship programme working with external partners like Babbington College, Ofsted and Skills for Justice.

Born and bred in Hucknall, Marcus, a former Holgate Academy student, said he was proud to receive the award and be recognised for the work he does in his full-time role with NFRS leading – along with his colleague Julie Worthington – as the apprenticeship co-ordinator at the service and bringing through the next generation of firefighters.

Marcus said: “It was one of those you don’t expect, so it was very nice when my name was announced.

“The award is part of the service’s values awards section and this features awards for collaborating with services like the police for example.

“Mine was for the work I do as the apprentice co-ordinator, like developing people or booking assessments, and it was nice to be recognised for the job I do.

“These apprenticeships have been running for three years now, since I started, so I’ve built it up in that time.

“When I started, NFRS were looking to start the apprenticeship scheme up and so in three years, myself and Julie have built it up from nothing to what it is today and I’m verty proud of that.

“I’m also an on-call firefighter for Hucknall too and it’s nice to feel I’m giving something to my local community too.

“For me, it is all about the community aspect. I’ve spoken before about the the things we do for Christmas and at Easter and it’s nice to be able to work in my local area and make a bit of a difference to local people’s lives, however big or small that might be.

“Obviously, I started the on-call role before I took on my current full-time role with the service.

“Luckily, Hucknall’s quite safe for fires so that allows me to give more in my role with the apprentices.”

Marcus and his Hucknall Fire Station colleagues are currently running their 12 Days of Christmas campaign – for details visit fb.com/HucknallFireStation