Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has recognised a Newton Abbot business’s support of the emergency services and the community they serve with a special certificate.

The certificate, awarded to the directors and staff at Teignbridge Propellors, recognises the ongoing contribution the business makes to ‘helping the community at a time of need’ by releasing staff to undertake on-call firefighting duties.

Teignbridge Propellors supports two employees to serve as retained firefighters with Newton Abbot fire station alongside their roles within the company.

Watch manager Scott Leanam and his crew visited Teignbridge Propellers to present the certificate from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority chief executive Gavin Ellis and to express their heartfelt thanks at the company’s support of the local firefighting team.

‘We’re incredibly proud of our team members, Dan Harrity and Charlie Plyer, who not only excel at their roles as machinist and welder, respectively, but also serve bravely as retained firefighters,’ said Teignbridge Propellors managing director Mark Phare.

Dan, who has served with the fire service for seven years and specialises in command and control, joined because he was looking for a new challenge. Charlie, a more recent recruit and one of only two female firefighters at Newton Abbot, wanted to give something back to the community.

The fire service relies heavily on its on-call firefighters. ‘Without businesses letting employees go out on a shout, there would be no coverage in the event of an incident,’ Dan pointed out.

Both Dan and Charlie are in jobs where colleagues can cover if they get called out. Mark admits that there are other roles where it ‘would be difficult to lose someone’.

However, he also believes the business benefits, not only from supporting the local community, but in practical ways too. Often the fire service uses the Teignbridge Propellors site for drills, which means firefighters are familiar with the layout and equipment.

The fire service is currently recruiting more retained firefighters. Dan’s advice to anyone interested is to ‘give it a try’. ‘Come to a drill night, have a chat and see what we do so you get a feel for it.’