In a ceremony held Friday, Dec. 12, the Forsyth County Fire Department presented a number of awards, promoted personnel, graduated its first ever in-house EMT class, and graduated its newest recruit class. Family, friends and Fire Department staff attended the ceremony, which was held in the auditorium at North Forsyth High School.
Awards were presented to personnel in the first portion of the ceremony.
“Periodically, the Forsyth County Fire Department reviews incidents of significance that have been nominated for particular acts of heroism or actions that result in a life saved,” said Division Chief Jason Shivers, who served as emcee for the ceremony. “Additionally, specific incidents that result in decisive and extraordinary efforts by a company are reviewed for Unit Citation Awards.”
39 Life Saved and 16 Unit Citation awards were presented to Fire Department personnel in recognition of outstanding actions over the past several years. Three personnel received the Medal of Honor for a rescue from a burning home in December 2013. Tracy Boone, the person rescued from that fire, presented the awards to the recipients after addressing the crowd.
In the promotional portion of the event, Fire Lieutenant Kenneth Shane Milford was formally promoted to the rank of captain, volunteer coordinator. Firefighter/EMT Christopher Ryan Black, who was unable to attend the ceremony, has been promoted to the rank of fire lieutenant.
During the event, the Fire Department graduated its first emergency medical technician (EMT) class. The six-month class was the first offered by the department, and provided current personnel the opportunity to earn their EMT certification. The EMT class graduates were:
- John Shaw Allen
- William Scott Chadwick
- Glen Allen Everett
- Matthew Lawrence Harris
- Kevin Bradley Lindsey
- Clint Edward Lively
- Michael Scott Madsen
- Brandon Paul Edward Nash
- Wyatt Anthony Nix
- Kenneth Darrell Phillips
- Scott Thomas Sibenaller
- Timothy Matthew Smallwood
- Christopher Dwight Warren
- William Benjamin Wilson
In the graduation portion of the ceremony, 11 recruits were officially welcomed as Forsyth County firefighters. City of Milton Fire Chief Robert Edgar was the guest speaker, congratulating the recruits and welcoming them to the fire service.
The recruits completed 14 weeks of intense firefighter instruction and drills which included training on structural fire control, interior search and rescue, flammable and combustible liquids fire control, pressurized container fire control, fire hose testing, truck and engine company operations, hazardous materials awareness and operations, vehicle extrication, public utilities gas/electric safety, and terrorism awareness. In total, each recruit completed more than 560 hours of certified fire training preparing them for their new career. Those graduates were:
- Patrick Drew Allingham
- Casey Charles Cannon
- Hanna Marie Coleman
- Anthony Paul Harris
- Terron Rhodes Harris
- Neil Dustin Jurceka
- Alexander Loren Loften
- Ruben Dario Ponce
- Tyler Cason Scott
- Grant Daniel Shumate
- Randall John Wright
“We congratulate each and every one of these individuals,” Fire Chief Danny Bowman said. “From those who are embarking on their brand new career with our department to those who were honored for their heroic actions while on the job, we are proud of each of them.”
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