Hero fire instructor on shortlist for reward
One of Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service’s unsung heroes is to receive some long-deserved acclaim after being shortlisted for the Community Hero Award organised by DHL Logistics.
Mark Ashby is a lay instructor with Warwickshire Young Firefighters Association, a role he has now carried out for the last seven years which he combines with his job as a forklift driver and instructor. He joins the young people for meetings every week at Nuneaton Fire Station and has also helped out at meetings in both Bedworth and Atherstone Fire Stations.
His voluntary work with Warwickshire Young Firefighters Association is, for Mark, some compensation for a career he was never able to pursue. He had always wanted to be a firefighter but, although otherwise fit, he failed the medical when his pulse recovery rate was found to be too slow.
Mark works alongside full-time firefighters and trains young people who have joined the association. His specialist area is working in knots and lines, and passes on many essential tips for the young people in this critical skill as well as advising on the health and safety when the young people are in the drill tower.
Over the years Mark has seen between 40 and 50 young people, aged between 13 and 16, enter the association and devoutly train in the skills required to be a firefighter. Always kitted out in full uniform, with discipline and exemplary manners, Mark feels they are a credit to themselves and to the fire and rescue service. He says:
“We have had children in from all backgrounds. Some have had their own challenges to overcome, such as Tourette’s, Aspergers and learning disabilities. But every single one of the young people that joins the association has welcomed the training and matched the commitment of myself and the firefighters who train them.
“Many will go on to serve the community in the role of firefighter. And those who, for whatever reason, do not go on to do so will have a tremendous platform from which to make a positive contribution in whichever field they do go into.”
Mark’s own contribution has been made all the more remarkable after being diagnosed with Leukaemia three and a half years ago. For months as he underwent gruelling treatment regimes, Mark was at a low ebb. It was at these times that the fire service repaid Mark for his efforts over the years. Messages of support, visits and a cup of tea and a chat when he popped along to Atherstone Fire Station all helped Mark in those dark days.
Mark’s courage in facing the illness has not gone unnoticed by colleagues. Crew manager Donny Clarke who works with Mark at Nuneaton Fire Station, said: “Mark doesn’t make a fuss about his illness. The way he has put it behind him and carried on where he left off, helping young people in the community to do something extremely worthwhile, is a shining example not only to them but to all of us who work alongside him.”