The chief officer of the fire service for Brighton and Hove has been awarded the King’s Fire Service Medal for distinguished service in the New Year Honours List.
Dawn Whittaker, 55, joined East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service in June 2016 as deputy chief fire officer from Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service, becoming chief fire officer in October 2017.
She said: “I was both surprised and humbled when I was told about the award.
“I have been privileged to work with some fantastic colleagues and partners over many years to influence community safety and in particular to reduce drowning in the UK, so to be recognised for that is a great honour”
East Sussex Fire Authority chairman Roy Galley said: “Dawn has received this accolade for her national work on water safety and it also reflects her outstanding contribution to the fire service nationally and her exceptional leadership of East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service.”
Since taking command of the fire service locally, she has been behind a drive to reduce accidental fires in the home which have now dropped to their lowest ever level.
She has overseen the introduction of Fire Cadets and celebrate East Sussex being named the UK Fire and Rescue Service of the Year 2021 at the iESE Public Sector Transformation Awards.
The fire service said that Dawn Whittaker had also supported the development of a water safety education programme for local schools, adding: “As a teenager Dawn got into difficulty herself in a river in Mid-Wales and was rescued by friends when her foot got caught in underwater branches.
“Coupled with a number of challenging water-related incidents since she joined the emergency services, this helped shape her commitment to seek a reduction in the number of accidental drownings and water-related incidents in the UK.
“She has been NFCC (National Fire Chiefs Council) lead for drowning prevention and water safety since 2013, paving the way for the NFCC to join the UK National Water Safety Forum in 2014.
“After helping to write the UK Drowning Prevention Strategy, in subsequent years she set up the NFCC water safety practitioners group which is a vibrant group of FRS (fire and rescue service) people committed to improving water safety that Dawn refers to as ‘the water safety warriors’.
“The NFCC group developed the #BeWaterAware campaign, as well as delivering community safety signage and boards, throwline training and improved data analysis, with support from the data and digital group.
“Dawn is so proud of the commitment UK Fire and Rescue services have shown to reduce deaths in water and improve water safety education.
“Personally and outside of the NFCC work, Dawn is part of a group called Families Against Drowning which helps support families impacted by drowning to spread messages.
“She has worked with many committed water safety advocates who endlessly try to raise awareness and save lives.
“Dawn was elected chair of the UK National Water Safety Forum in 2020 and pays tribute to how well charities, parents, local authorities and agencies have worked together to deliver the UK’s new collective campaign ‘Respect the Water’ and the work the UK did to highlight World Drowning Prevention Day in July.”
To read about other recipients in the King’s first New Year Honours List, click here.
