27 Apr Epping on-call firefighter awarded Townsperson of the Year
An on-call Epping firefighter who has given more than three decades of service to the town has been presented with Epping Town Council’s Townsperson of the Year award.
Martyn Simmons joined Essex County Fire and Rescue Service in June 1983, aged 27, while working at the Bank of England in London.
He later changed career to become a qualified tree surgeon and gardening consultant. With his career change he was able to provide more cover for the fire service.
Over the years he has attended numerous incidents, including house fires, the massive blaze which tore through shops and businesses in Epping High Street in 1990 and a major fire at a hangar on North Weald Airfield in 1996.
He was also among the crews called to the Leeds United football team air crash at Stansted in 1998 and the Korean Air crash at Great Hallingbury, near the airport, in 1999.
Mr Simmons was promoted to Leading Firefighter in 2002 and has qualified in various Essex County Fire and Rescue Service courses.
He has been awarded the Fire Service Long Service and Good Conduct Medal along with the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal and Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.
