Merseyside fire chief praises hospital bomb response after investiture

A fire chief has spoken of his pride in his colleagues who responded to the terror attack on Liverpool Women's Hospital as he became an OBE.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service's Phil Garrigan was appointed for services during the pandemic by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle.

Speaking afterwards, he said the service did a "fantastic job" after the attack on 14 November.

"I'm really proud of the efforts of my firefighters," he added.

Mr Garrigan, who joined the service in 1990 and has been in charge since 2017, said being "presented with the OBE from Prince Charles is an absolute highlight of my career".

He said he had discussed his service during the pandemic with the prince, as well as work with children and young people through the Prince's Trust.

"We discussed how life-changing, how transformative it is for young people, and the fact that we've got many people who are now employed by the fire and rescue service who started on the Prince's Trust team programme, and so he was thrilled with that outcome," he said.

He went on to recall the efforts of the service in responding to the attack on Remembrance Sunday.

"We've done a fantastic job alongside our other emergency service responders - very quickly on scene, very effectively dealt with the incident and we've managed it effectively since," he said.

"I'm really proud of the efforts of my firefighters and my service more broadly."

He said he was "very humbled to receive this honour and recognise that it is in no small part down to the incredible people I work with".

He added that he was "also incredibly grateful to my wife Michelle for allowing me the opportunities in work that many other people aren't afforded".

"I know my own limitations and I know that they are offset by hard work, accessibility and unswerving commitment to the people of Merseyside, all of which can come at a cost unless you have someone so understanding as my wife by your side."

He added that following the investiture, the couple would be "taking a few small sandwiches, some little dainty cakes and hopefully copious amounts of champagne - that's the plan".

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