“Freeport’s Bravest” 2008 Awards Ceremony
The annual Freeport Fire-Rescue Awards Banquet was held on the evening of Saturday February 9, 2008 at the Hilton Garden Inn.
Once again, an outstanding evening of food, spirits, and socializing, was spent with friends and family to recognize all the hard work done by our members.
Most importantly, it was a moment to recognize and thank the spouse’s of our members for their patience, understanding, and support, for allowing all of our department members to commit so many hours of dedicated service to the department and the citizens of Freeport. Without their support and understanding none of this would be possible. They are truly the heroes behind the scenes.
This year we were honored to have in attendance a number of town council members, area chief’s, and local business owners who tirelessly support the Freeport Fire-Rescue throughout the year. Those in attendance were,
Town Councilors
Genie Beaulieu
Rich Degrandpre
James Cassida
Joe Migliaccio
Charlotte Bishop.
Area Fire Chief’s
Chief Bill St. Michel from Durham Fire-Rescue
Chief Gerald Schofield – Freeport Police Department
Deputy Chief Mike Robitaille from Yarmouth Fire-Rescue.
Local Business Owners & Supporters
Ted Lewis – President of Parkview Adventist Medical Center
Mike Pescatello – Administrator of the Hawethorne House
Linda McMahon – Freeport Rotary
Charlie Burnham – Burnham’s Oil Burner Service
Bernadette & Tim Farley – Shoe Renew
After recognizing all of our distinguished guests, the celebration was set in motion following the invocation delivered by the departments Chaplain, Sandy Williams. A buffet Dinner and dessert, was followed by a slide show recapping the past years events and calls for service as they were captured by the departments photographer Paul Cunningham.
Following the slideshow, Chief Darrel Fournier, took a moment and recognized some of the highlights of the year, those included,
· Code save at the YMCA
· Patriots Day Storm coverage & response
· NET Program successful billing (86%)
· Receipt of the Fire AFG Grant Award
· Successful Water Rescue off Winslow Park
· Bustin’s Island Structure fire and exposure saves
· EMS Electronic Run Reporting
· Replacement of Engine 5 – New Engine has been ordered
· Fire Prevention Open House
· Middle School Fire & Health Education Programs
· Purchase of New Rescue
· CPR Training provided for the towns Schools, Nursing facilities, Day Care Centers, and to the Public
· Birthday Party Program for children
· Over 2800 hours of training and response by department members to 1, 710 emergency calls for service and 1, 500 Non Emergency Transport (NET) calls
· Community Attitude Survey – Fire department customer satisfaction rated at 84% with only 1% being dissatisfied with service, and 77% are satisfied with rescue services while 6% are dissatisfied with this service.
Rescue Company Awards – Service Year Pins
FF/EMT-I Mike Crossman – 5 Years of Service
Lieutenant/EMT-I Tom Bull – 10 Years of Service
FF/EMT Bill Cash - 10 Years of Service
Lieutenant/EMT Karen Sylvain – 15 Years of Service
Fire Company Awards – Service Year Pins
Lieutenant/EMT Alan Boucher – 5 Years of Service
Lieutenant/EMT-I Tom Bull – 10 Years of Service
FF/EMT Bill Cash - 10 Years of Service
Lieutenant Corey Sloat – 15 Years of Service
Captain/EMT Tony Pasquale - 15 Years of Service
FF/EMT-P Toni Seymour – 15 Years of Service
F/F Brent Moon – 20 Years of Service
F/F Richard O. Sylvain – 35 Years of Service
F/F Charlie Smith - 35 Years of Service
F/F Kevin Manter - 35 Years of Service
F/F Dwight Libby – 45 Years of Service
A special moment was taken to recognize and remember two of our members who sadly passed away this year; they both will be sadly missed.
F/F Al Thompson – 45 Years of Service
F/F Merle Thompson – 45 Years of Service
Ladies Auxiliary Awards – Service Year Pins
Becky Daly – 5 Years of Service
Lois Lane – 5 Years of Service
Karen Sylvain – 5 Years of Service
Crystal Boucher – 5 Years of Service
Dianne Fournier – 5 Years of Service
Evelyn Sylvain – 10 Years of Service
Roxy Farley – 20 Years of Service
Two Lifetime Achievement Awards were also issued to two very special and dedicated auxiliary members, combined they have over 52 years of combined service, these two members are,
Beverly Scammon – 28 Years of Service
Marie Forbus – 24 Years of Service
Freeport Fire Company Award
With over 20 years of dedicated service to our department, this man is the person who will be there to support us during our darkest hours. He is of great help, and an asset to the department and its personnel, The 2007 Freeport Fire Company Award was presented to Chaplain Sandy Williams.
EMS License Attainments and Upgrades
Lieutenant Thomas McCarthy - Attained EMT Basic License
Lieutenant Alan Boucher - Attained EMT Basic License
F/F Ben Mullane - Attained EMT Basic License
F/F Steve Roy - Attained EMT- Intermediate License
F/F Mike Crossman - Attained EMT- Intermediate License
EMT Lorraine Burbank - Attained EMT- Paramedic License
Firefighter I and II Certifications
Lieutenant Alan Boucher
F/F Ben Mullane
FF/EMT-I Chad Cote
Retirement Announcement
After over 35 years of service to the Freeport Fire-Rescue Department, and having worked his way up through the ranks to the position of Deputy Chief, The Freeport Fire-Rescue wishes to announce the retirement of F/F Bryan Sloat. Thank you for dedicated service.
2007 Rookie/Recruit of the Year Award
The word rookie is defined as, an untrained or inexperienced recruit, a first year player, a beginner or someone new to the job or department. This award is for a new member of the department who as a rookie, works hard to be accepted by the membership, has a can-do attitude, and strives to become a good member of the department. For their hard work and dedication, the 2007 Rookie/Recruit of the Year is awarded to FF/EMT Ben Mullane – Fire, and EMT Amanda Berry – Rescue.
2007 Firefighter of the Year Award
The firefighter of the year award is for the member, career or volunteer, that goes above and beyond the call of duty, has a can-do attitude and strives to provide better than average care to the citizens of Freeport. This person or persons provides “Outstanding membership and Service” and reflects the ideal representative of the department. For his professionalism and dedication to the department and his many years of service, the 2007 Firefighter of the Year is awarded to F/F Richard O. Sylvain.
2007 EMS Member of the Year Award
The EMS member of the year award is for the member, career or volunteer, that goes above and beyond the call of duty, has a can-do attitude and strives to provide better than average care to the citizens of Freeport. This person or persons provides “Outstanding Membership and Service” and reflects the ideal representative of the department. For her professionalism and dedication to the department, the 2007 EMS member of the year is awarded to EMT-P Lorraine Burbank.
2007 EMS Officer of the Year Award
The EMS officer of year award is for the member, career or volunteer, that goes above and beyond the call of duty, has a can-do attitude and strives to provide better than average care to the citizens of Freeport. This person or persons provides “Outstanding Membership and Service” and reflects the ideal representation of the department. For the professionalism and dedication to the department, the 2007 EMS Officer of the Year is awarded to Lieutenant Karen Sylvain.
2007 Fire Officer of the Year
The Fire officer of year award is for the member, career or volunteer, that goes above and beyond the call of duty, has a can-do attitude and strives to provide better than average care to the citizens of Freeport. This person or persons provides “Outstanding Membership and Service” and reflects the ideal representation of the department. For the professionalism and dedication to the department, the 2007 Fire Officer of the Year is awarded to Captain Tony Pasquale.
2007 Outstanding Call of the Year Award
The outstanding call of the year award is for that special call that stands out. It can be obscure, funny, difficult, a great save and/or good teamwork. This is to be a call we will want to remember, cry about, laugh about, or just think about for years to come. It could have involved just a few, or many of the members of the department.
On September 28, 2007 Freeport Fire-Rescue was summoned to respond to 19 Old County Rd to rescue a draft horse that was reported to be stuck in the mud at the bottom of a ravine. Emergency personnel responded to assess the situation and see if there was something that could be done, this type of call had never been received before.
On scene, members met with the horse owner and found the draft horse, approximately 1,750lbs, stuck up to its stomach in the mud. Immediately the call for more help was requested and more help was dispatched to the scene.
Fire hoses were deployed and used as pulling straps, salvage covers and plywood were used as a make-shift skid, the departments forestry truck with its winch was deployed to aid in removing the horse from the mud.
After approximately three hours, the horse was freed from its muddy trap, and pulled up the ravine and into its pasture. The draft horse was completely exhausted from over exertion in its attempt to get out of the mud hole, and ounce in the pasture was still too exhausted to stand up. The horse remained laying in the field through the night with its owner at its side. Unfortunately, the draft horse succumbed to its exhaustion the next morning and passed away.
The department personnel, who responded, acted above and beyond the call of duty and were committed to successfully rescuing the draft horse. As a team, the Fire-Rescue personnel worked together professionally, exchanged ideas, and over came the frustration of many plans that didn’t work until finally collectively finding one that did.
For their professionalism and dedication to the department, the 2007 Call of the Year is Awarded to,
Lieutenant Alan Boucher Deputy Chief Paul Conley
FF/EMT Kenneth Coslet F/F Duncan Daly
Chief Darrel Fournier FF/EMT-P Gary Lane
FF/EMT-P Jennifer Larson FF/EMT Ben Mullane
Captain Richard Pierce Lieutenant Corey Sloat
Deputy Chief Raymond Smith F/F Richard O. Sylvain
Deputy Chief Eric Sylvain Lieutenant Tom Bull
EMT Mike Davis EMT Jo Ann Harrison
Lieutenant Dick Hogue EMT Linda Morin
FF/EMT-I Rick Smith Lieutenant Karen Sylvain
FD Photographer Paul Cunningham
Annual Service Award
For their professionalism and dedication to the department, the 2007 Annual Service Award was awarded to the entire membership of the Freeport Ladies Auxiliary for their continued support service to the Freeport Fire-Rescue.
Annual Chiefs Award
For his professionalism and dedication to the department, the 2007 Annual Chiefs Award was awarded to fire department photographer Paul Cunningham for his continued support service to the Freeport Fire-Rescue.
Special Thanks and Appreciation
Special thanks and appreciation was given to Deputy Chief Mike Robitaille of the Yarmouth Fire-Rescue department. With his assistance, Freeport Fire-Rescue was awarded the Fire AFG Grant for the purchase new Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA’s) and air compressor system.
Congratulations to all of the 2007 award winners and thank you to everyone, department members and spouses, for your continued professionalism, dedication, and support
