Fire Control Operator Chloe Diver with Chief Fire Officer Steve Helps.
Fire Control Operator Chloe Diver has been recognised with a Certificate of Appreciation after dealing with a harrowing 999 call.
Chloe, from Coxhoe, received a call earlier this year reporting a serious house fire in County Durham.
The 27-year-old, who only joined the Control team in November 2023, remained calm and professional while speaking to the distressed caller to get all of the information she needed and to assure them that Firefighters were on their way.
On Thursday, July 11 her actions were recognised with the Certificate of Appreciation which was presented by Chief Fire Officer Steve Helps.
Chloe, who initially joined the Service as a Finance Apprentice in February 2019, said: “I feel very proud to have received the award having only been in Control for such a short period of time and it was lovely to receive the award surrounded by my Control and Finance team.”
She continued: “It was a particularly difficult call as the caller was in clear distress, but I remained calm and professional and remembered that all my training for this role had prepared me for this.
“I immediately took control of the call and issued fire survival to the caller to ensure they were safe and reassured them that help was on the way.
“I didn’t really have time to think about how I felt when the call came in, however, it was reassuring to me that I had my team around me to support me during the call.”
Praising Chloe for her professionalism during the challenging incident, Chief Fire Officer Steve Helps said: “A huge well done to Chloe for the way she was able to handle what was a very distressing call to establish all the details we needed to inform and deploy our crews to the incident.
“Our Control Room Operators play a vital role in our Service and I am delighted to be able to recognise Chloe’s part in the amazing work the team does every day.”
