02-15-16 Firefighters Honored at CFD Awards Ceremony

At the ceremony, Mayor Andy Berke and Fire Chief Chris Adams recognized those firefighters who exhibited extraordinary efforts at incidents that occurred during the year 2015. The top award, Firefighter of the Year, was given to two firefighters, Captain Joey Smith and Firefighter Tyler Toon. Together, they saved a man's life in a house fire at 317 N. Highland Park Avenue on Nov. 14, 2015. New this year was the addition of the Firehouse Subs Hall of Fame award, the purpose of which is to honor retired firefighters who had a positive and lasting impact on the fire department. Here is a list of all the firefighters honored at the ceremony:

Promotions:

Promoted to Senior Firefighter:
Timothy Freire
Kerrin Parker

Promoted to Lieutenant:
Fred Edgemon
Joseph Ervin
Aaron Harmon
Daniel Peterson
Chad Rogers
Nick Saynes

Promoted to Captain:
Chuck Hartung
Larry King
Shawn O'Kelley
Jenny Parker
Brad Petty
Robert Thompson
Tim Waters

Unit Commendations:

Firefighters with Q16, Q10, S1, S19 (Green Shift) for Extrication on Amnicola Hwy on 6-30-15

Firefighters with E5 & L5 (Blue Shift) for response to fire at 2405 Kirby Ave. on 7-15-15

Firefighters with Q10 (Red Shift) for response to N/A industries on 6-17-15

Firefighters with Q8 (Red Shift) for response to fire at 6240 Airpark Dr. on 7-23-15

Firefighters with E4 (Red Shift) for response to fire at 2188 Camden Oaks Dr. on 4-6-15

CFD Honor Guard

Awards Related to Shooting Incident at Naval Reserve Center on July 16, 2015:

Meritorious Service Awards for Battalion Chiefs Don Bowman, Jeff Eldridge and Lesley Morgan

Unit Commendations for Special Ops: Asst. Chief Danny Hague and Captain David Tallent

Unit Commendations for Q10 and Q6 (Green Shift): Quint 10, Captain William Dautrich, SFF Dale Aslinger and FFE Mark Jenkins. With Quint 6, Captain Teri Rose, Lt. Brad Freeman, SFF Rusty Mobley and Firefighter Robert Davis

Civilian Service Award: DeWayne Johnson with Fleet Maintenance

Military Service Award:

SFF Jack Thompson: Recipient of the United States Navy's Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal

Life Safety Awards:

Lt. Vernon Lane: For saving the life of a baby at a 2-alarm fire at Hidden Creek Apartments (7710 E. Brainerd Rd) on August 13, 2015 [See attached photo.]

* In the photo: Fire Chief Chris Adams, Lt. Vernon Lane, and Mayor Andy Berke

Captain Joey Smith and Firefighter Tyler Toon: For saving a man's life at a house fire (317 N. Highland Park Dr.) on Nov. 14th, 2015

Firefighter of the Year Award:

Captain Joey Smith and Firefighter Tyler Toon for saving a man's life at a house fire (317 N. Highland Park Dr) on Nov. 14th, 2015 [See attached photo.]

* In the photo (left to right): Fire Chief Chris Adams, Captain Joey Smith, Firefighter Tyler Toon, and Mayor Andy Berke.

Firehouse Subs CFD Hall of Fame Inductees:

Firefighter John Gross

Retired Fire Chief Harry Jett

Retired Fire Chief Jim Coppinger

Retired Fire Chief Joe Knowles

The department also recognized those firefighters who retired last year, and those who passed away:

Retirees:

Freddie Brooks, Firefighter, (28 years)
Richard Meier, Firefighter, (28 years)
Abdul Swafford, Senior Firefighter, (14 years)
Chris Rader, Lieutenant, (28 years)
Jeffrey Rorex, Lieutenant, (28 years)
Craig Haney, Captain, (27 years)
Andre Hicks, Captain, (28 years)
Terry Martin, Captain, (28 years)
Fredrick Blake, Battalion Chief, (28 years)
Charles Patton, Battalion Chief, (28 years)
Rick Sewell, Battalion Chief, (27 years)
Lamar Flint, Chief, (28 years)

In Memoriam:

David Brown, Relief Driver

Robert Carlton, Captain

George Davis, Asst. Chief

Theodore Griffith Jr., Captain

Walter House, Captain

Edward Kelley, Firefighter

Worth Kendrick, Captain

Billy Richards, Lieutenant

James Weathers, Lieutenant

Emmitt Williams, Firefighter