Strathmore Fire Department volunteer firefighters Simon Bradley and Kimball Yorston received the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal, which recognizes and celebrates exceptional service to the community.

Bradley said he was one of several Strathmore residents to receive the award, and he is very grateful for it.

"I'm honored to be a recipient, I'm really fortunate to be able to receive that alongside many deserving people," he said. 

"It was humbling to to see how many people in the Strathmore community are giving back in so many different ways and it was great to be able to see that being recognized. It's a testament to our community that there were so many recipients, (there's) such a culture of volunteerism within the community. It was really incredible to see."

Bradley is a recent addition to the SFD team, as he has just started his second year after graduating from their program. Prior to joining the SFD, Bradley was very involved with Calgary Search and Rescue when he lived in Calgary, and also currently works in disaster response for the City of Calgary, so he brought a wealth of knowledge and experience with him, despite being a relatively new member of the crew.

Bradley's experiences include responding to the Calgary floods and the Fort McMurray fires, which he explained was also part of his nomination for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal.

Even though Bradley received the award, he emphasized that it was the entire team that helped the community, and while he's grateful to be recognized, he feels it definitely isn't an individual award.

"It's hard when you have a medal like this that's awarded to individuals rather than teams because what we are doing every day is working in a team environment. I didn't go to the Calgary flood by myself. I didn't go to the Fort McMurray fire by myself. It was working alongside those that made that successful. And that's what it's about, going in and being able to support."

"It is about the teamwork, that's what firefighting is about, that's what emergency management is about, and that's what disaster response is about. It's about working alongside those with you to be able to bring some resolve to that situation." 

Bradley is definitely happy and honored to be receiving the medal, but made sure to recognize that there are many other community members like his fellow volunteer firefighters that do so much for the community as well. 

"There are so many dedicated people out there that are just as deserving, if not more deserving, than me. It's not just about me, there are lots of incredible people."

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