SANDY FIRE DISTRICT RECOGNIZES SERVICE OVER AND ABOVE THE CALL OF DUTY

Sandy Fire District announced award recipients during their annual banquet
Saturday, January 15th. Fire department members who have shown exemplary
character, work ethic and commitment to service were given awards and
recognition.

The individuals listed below have demonstrated the ability to work under
extreme pressure, and the desire to learn and to teach. It is individuals
such as these that challenge us to meet them at the top.

. Probationary Firefighter of the Year – FF Dave Evans
. Firefighter of the Year – FF TJ Zander
. Officer of the Year – Capt Martin Grassl – for the 5th Year in a row, 7
total!!

Probationary Firefighter of the Year is chosen by the Training Officer and
the other instructors who teach the class. Firefighter and the Officer of
the Year are chosen by the volunteer membership.

Volunteer FF Dave Evans (Probationary Firefighter of the Year) responded to
76 alarms, and provided standby 186 times. FF Evans served as a crew member
44 times, staffing the station both days and evenings. He has just
completed his EMT Basic training and has begun his Firefighter II. FF Evans
spent countless hours at the station and assisted with public education and
was a key participant in many meetings and events.

Volunteer FF TJ Zander (Firefighter of the Year) responded to 423 alarms,
staffed the station evenings, covered 171 duty crew shifts and completed 155
hours of training. While these numbers seem impressive individually; when
you add everything up they are even more impressive – TJ spent an amazing
total of 1,853 hours providing service to the district and our community in
2010.

Volunteer Capt. Martin Grassl (Officer of the Year) responded to 243
alarms and standbys, staffed 44 Duty Officer shifts and attended 163
training hours. Capt. Grassl also assisted in the Firefighter Drivers’
Training Program and is the recipient of this award an unprecedented 5 times
in a row!! He is often chosen as a mentor by new members who seek him out
for his incredible professionalism. Not only does Capt Grassl make himself
available to train firefighters, he does so with a constantly smiling face
and a contagious positive attitude.

Employee of the Year: Capt. Jason McKinnon.
Capt. Jason McKinnon joined Sandy Fire in 2008 and in that short time has
accomplished remarkable things. As soon as Capt McKinnon came on board, he
began a thorough evaluation of our existing training program. He set goals
for future training and began a campaign of encouraging and motivating
members towards additional certifications and higher levels of skill. He
has set a high bar and leads by example. His background and experience
include a network of state contacts and national speakers. In just two
years Sandy Fire has hosted two national fire academy classes. Capt
McKinnon is a strong advocate for all members and consistently demonstrates
his support for individuals to commit to constant learning and improvement.
This attitude assures that Sandy Fire will continue to be a well respected,
professional organization with a trusted and highly skilled workforce.

Board Awards:
Chief Gary McQueen for his completion of the Executive Fire Officer Program.

The Executive Fire Officer Program is a four-year educational process at the
National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland, Chief officers and key
department leaders are selected to attend this course. It consists of four
classes covering the topics of leadership, personal and professional growth,
community risk reduction and emergency management. Each class is two weeks
long and involves a lengthy research project. Chief McQueen has once again
demonstrated his commitment to professionalism, and his dedication to
quality and researched based operations is a tremendous benefit to the
protection and ultimate safety of our firefighters and community.

Chuck Chaffin for his service over and above.
Chuck began his fire service in 1975 and in 1978 he joined Sandy Fire
District as a volunteer firefighter, eventually promoting through the ranks
to Captain. Hired by the District in 1991, he worked as a firefighter,
engineer, fire investigator, Public Information Officer, and Fire Marshal.
Chuck has the distinct honor of becoming one of the first people to be
certified as a Fire Marshal in Oregon. In 1998, Chuck was hired by the Lake
Oswego Fire Department and became a Life Member of Sandy Fire District.

Chuck served on several state committees involving prevention and education
over the years and was a major champion for the development of the juvenile
fire-setter intervention program, teaching the topic at several national
conferences.

Below is only a partial listing of Chuck’s awards:
- Officer of the Year for Sandy Fire District, 1982, 1984, 1985.
- Clackamas County Juvenile Fire Setter Intervention Award in 1994 and
1989,
- US Forest Service Wildfire prevention award in 1996
- Clackamas County Fire Investigator award in 2009
- Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Golden Sparky Award in 2005. The Golden
Sparky Award is the highest honor awarded by the Office of State Fire
Marshal for outstanding achievement in Fire Prevention and Fire Safety
Education.

Chuck’s accomplishments over his career have positively impacted Sandy Fire
District, the State of Oregon and beyond.

Other Recognition:
- 30 years of service: Chief Gary McQueen, Capt Martin Grassl, and
Capt Art Blaisdell
- 25 years of service: Lt Don Bennett and Capt. Scott Howland
- 15 years of service: FF Pat Archer, FF Richard Dyal and Chaplain
Dennis Simons
- 5 years of service: Margaret Grassl and Board member Bill Trimble,

For additional information or to schedule a photo opportunity or interview
with any of the Fire Service Members listed above contact: Alice Busch at
971-563-3051 cell, or 503-237-4152 pager.

Contact Info: Contact: Alice Busch, PIO
Sandy Fire District
503-668-2728 wk
503-237-4152 pgr
971-563-3051 cell

News Release from: Sandy Fire District
Posted: February 4th, 2011 3:46 PM

Tags: recognition of service, Sandy Fire Department

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 6th, 2011 at 3:32 pm and is filed under City of Sandy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.