Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service has been thanked for its efforts during the fire at the Jubilee campus, the biggest seen in the city in a decade.
The Chancellor of the University of Nottingham, Sir Andrew Witty, presented the Chancellor’s Award to the Deputy Chief Fire Officer Wayne Bowcock at a ceremony on January 22.
This is the first time that this award has been given, and it has been created to recognise exceptional contributions made by individuals and external organisations.
A donation of £20,000 has also been made to the Fire Fighters Charity as well as an award and certificate of recognition.
Mr Bowcock said: “”It’s an absolute tragedy to lose the buildings and the crews were aghast when they got there and we realised that there was little we could do to save it.”
“The priority then was people’s safety and there was some significant challenges for us to protect the surroundings and keep people safe.”
The award was presented in recognition of the efforts by the service in preventing the spread of the recent fire at the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Sustainable Chemistry Laboratory in September.
Mr Bowcock added: “It was a big team effort and it’s great that the University has recognised that with this award.”
The cause of the fire is currently still being investigated though the police have ruled out any criminal activities.
