Fremont County Fire Protection District 2011 Annual Awards Banquet(Riverton) — The 2011 Fremont County Fire Protection District Awards Banquet was held at the Eagles Hall in Riverton. District Chief Craig Haslam reported that the District responded to 771 alarms, which resulted to 460 different incidents during 2011. “We responded to 36 structure fires, 88 wildland fires, 90 vehicle fires and accidents, 93 rescue/medical assist calls, and 47 other incidents,” he said. Haslam noted that the numbers did not include false alarms and cancelled calls. “These two categories account for many more hours when our volunteers are there; ready to respond, just to make sure every patron and visitor of the District is safe from ‘harms’ way,” he said.
There are currently 203 volunteer members serving the Fremont County Fire District. These volunteers attended 148 trainings, 158 meetings and 109 other activities during 2011.
Kathi Metzler and Ken Metzler were each honored with awards for having achieved 35 years volunteering with the Fremont County Fire District.
Glen Steers was commended for not only his 20 years with the Fremont County Fire District, but counting the years Glen served in the Jeffrey City Fire Department; he has spent nearly 40 years providing volunteer fire service in Fremont County.
The Fire District honored the following members for having achieved the 30 year mark during 2011: Don Dechert Sr., Craig Haslam, Dennis Horton, Stan Horton, Gene Jordan, and Don Reynolds. Honored for achieving the 25 year mark were Paul Downey and Kirk Koch.
The Fire District this year saw the retirement of four valued, long-time members. James Dewey, from the Midvale area retired after serving the District for 20 years. Another Midvale firefighter, Bryan Sage, retired after 17 years of service. Michael Sims from the Kinnear area retired with 17 years of service, and Debbie Scheler from the Lander Rural Battalion retired after 13 years of service.
The recipient of the Deputy Chief’s award this year was Jesse Snyder from Battalion 1 Support. The Chief’s award was presented to Kathi Metzler from the Missouri Valley Battalion, and an Award of Merit went to Lander Rural Battalion Chief David Peevey.
The Firefighter of the Year Award was presented to Richard Denke from Battalion 8 Midvale. In nominating Richard for this award his Battalion said: “Being a Volunteer Fireman means more than just chasing smoke and spraying water. As Volunteer Firefighters we are expected to be able to do everything for everyone in every situation and Richard exemplifies this. The level of dedication that Richard has shown to his community and to the fire service has gone above and beyond expectations.”
Haslam thanked all of the families, friends and employers of District Volunteer Firefighters for the sacrifices they make in order for the firefighters to meet, train and respond to incidents to protect lives and property in our communities and the surrounding area. Chief Haslam thanked all of the firefighters whose pride and dedication to this profession provides an invaluable service to the patrons of our District and its visitors.
