Fire service chief accepts award on behalf of all staff
The chief executive of Kent’s fire service was honoured in the Queen’s New Year Honours List.
Ann Millington has been at the helm of Kent Fire and Rescue since 2011, having previously worked as the human resources director and the deputy chief executive.
She was recognised for her work by being awarded the Queen’s Fire Service Medal.
Miss Millington was the first woman to be appointed to the role in the service’s history, but her career was an interesting and varied one before that.
She studied for a degree in philosophy and psychology, and took a job at a psychiatric hospital in north Wales after graduating. A later temporary job in the HR department of the Home Office turned into a permanent position.
Speaking to Fire Magazine, Miss Millington said: “After completing my degree I always knew my natural orientation would be towards a peoplebased profession, but the experience at the Home Office really cemented my career path.”
Now, she is in charge of 2,000 staff, who deliver an emergency response and prevention work to more than 1.7m people.
Among other achievements, Miss Millington worked in Oman as part of a British Embassy project to develop edu- cation frameworks for young people.
She has also worked in Europe, New York and Hong Kong.
She said: “I am accepting the Queen’s Fire Service Medal on behalf of all of the firefighters and staff of Kent Fire and Rescue Service.
“This is entirely about recognising a team who work selflessly to keep people in our country safe and well, not only in emergencies such as fire, road crashes and floods, but also in medical emergencies working alongside our colleagues in the ambulance service.”
The county’s firefighters deal with around 20,000 incidents a year, making it one of the busiest services in the country.