West Sussex firefighter with 50 years of service awarded BEM in King's Birthday Honours

Crew Manager Andy Horner has spent the last fifty years working for the fire service, and said he was ‘absolutely delighted’ to receive the award.

"It has been an honour to serve within West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service for the last 52 years and it is a job that I have thoroughly enjoyed doing,” he said. “I couldn’t have done any of this without the support of my family, my wife Bernice, children, Nicholas, Peter and Bethan, and a host of loyal colleagues.”

Andy first joined the fire service as a retained firefighter on March 1 1973 and, since then, has served alongside his wife and two sons, who also joined the fire service.

After 18 months at Selsey, he became a fulltime firefighter, serving the communities of Worthing, Horley and Chichester, as well as working for the service’s training team.

In 2013, he retired from his fulltime role as a Group Manager for the Chichester District and returned to Selsey station as a Retained Crew Manager.

It’s been a long and illustrious career, which has seen Andy attend several key incidents, including: the fire at Uppark House in 1989, the 1994 Chichester flooding and the Selsey Academy fire in 2016.

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service’s Chief Fire Officer, Sabrina Cohen-Hatton said: “Andy is our longest serving firefighter in West Sussex and I am delighted that his hard work, commitment, and selflessness over the last 52 years has been recognised with this award. Andy has dedicated his life to serving our local communities and is thoroughly deserving of this recognition.”

Cllr Duncan Crow, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Community Support, Fire and Rescue, said: “I am pleased that Andy’s achievements have been formally recognised in the shape of the British Empire Medal and on behalf of the County Council, I congratulate him for receiving this honour. We are incredibly grateful to Andy for the fantastic work he has done to keep West Sussex safe during his long and dutiful career.”