An "influential" and "passionate" borough firefighter is in the running to win a top regional prize.

Joe Cegla, based at Whitefield Fire Station, has been shortlisted for the "Apprentice of the Year" category at the North West Apprenticeship Awards.

He is in the running for the gong after going above and beyond his duties to analyse incidents he and his crew attend.

Joe has been looking trends and explore what could be done to reduce the number of incidents to make the area safer.

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He recently completed assessments for the Operational Firefighter Level 3 Apprenticeship Standard and gained distinctions across the board.

This is highly impressive given the breadth of criteria and gruelling assessments to ensure Greater Manchester firefighters are of the highest standard.

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In reaction to his nomination, Joe said: “I’ve always wanted to do a job with variety that would have a positive impact on the community and being a firefighter is just that.

“It’s a fantastic career to get in to and I’m so proud to have been shortlisted for this award.

“I want to keep learning and developing my skills and there are so many opportunities for me to do this with Manchester Fire Service.

“I’m working hard to work my way up to crew manager and in time I hope to become a trauma technician.”

As part of his apprenticeship, Joe completed an initial training programme lasting 16 weeks which gave him all the underpinning skills needed to be safe on an incident as an apprentice firefighter.

These covered pumps and ladders, breathing apparatus, road traffic collision training, community education to prevent incidents and engaging with a range of people who might be at risk.

It also included water rescue, initial emergency trauma care and fire safety, which covers the protection of people and buildings.

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Once he completed this programme he continued his apprenticeship at Whitefield Fire Station working on a watch on a shift pattern, undertaking more in depth tailored training and attending real life incidents.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service Chief Fire Officer Dave Russel said: “This is brilliant news for Joe and the wider service.

We believe our firefighters are the very best and nominations like these recognise that.

“Our training team work incredibly hard to train new firefighters and ensure our service goes from strength to strength.

“Joe is so passionate, I know he’s been influential in helping our programme become even better by helping enhance the curriculum.

“His involvement has been invaluable and contributed to our recent 'good' Ofsted inspection.

“We’ll all be cheering Joe on, we’re incredibly proud of him.”

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