A Salvation Army volunteer who has supported firefighters at incidents for more than15 years has been awarded for his dedication.
Major Karl Gray leads the charity’s Incident Response throughout London and runs the canteen van which is based at Shoreditch Fire Station.
During his time, he has attended more than 440 incidents, providing refreshments and a friendly face to firefighters on the ground.
Karl was taken unwell and spent eight weeks in hospital with Coronavirus at the start of the pandemic and yesterday, crews in Hackney presented Karl with a firefighter’s axe to welcome him back and to mark his years of service.
He has attended significant incidents including the London Bombings, the Cutty Sark fire and several of the large grass fires in 2017.
Hackney Borough Commander Lee Sandy said: “Karl is a huge part of the team at Shoreditch Fire Station and is known by firefighters across London.
“It’s always such a boost seeing his cheerful face offering you a hot drink and a sandwich when you’ve been working hard at an incident.
“We were very sorry Karl had been taken so poorly and he was much missed by everybody.
“The presentation was made on behalf of all the crews throughout Hackney in recognition of Karl’s continued support to the Brigade. We’re delighted to welcome him back.”