Annual Award Ceremony

The department held its annual Award Ceremony at the Civil Service Board Meeting March 3, 2009. A number of our members were recognized for their accomplishments over the last year.

The Service Award was presented to the following members: Randy Hartman (5 years,) Nathan Foll (10 years,) Chris Gattis (10 years,) Richard Ribar (10 years,) Jimm Walsh (10 years,) Mike Bass (15 years,) AJ Isaacs (15 years,) Rich Taylor (15 years,) Michael Templeton (15 years,) and Pat McCabe (20 years.)

The Merit Award was presented to two of our members: Blakely Vasen in recognition of being named the City of Winter Park Firefighter of the Year in 2008 and Jack Ryan for his years of service as a paramedic preceptor.

The Unit Commendation Award was presented to the following members for their efforts on a recent structure fire: Pat McCabe, Jim Knackert, Jim Duba, Gene Rodriguez, Richie Rodriguez, Craig Rosewicz, Rich Taylor, Randall Mells, Scott Donovan, Jim Santoro, Wally Wheaton, Chris Gattis, Tim Millard, Mike Bass, Dan Brown, Adam Ayers, Johnathan Castro, Rodney Childers, Rob Harkins, David Lepird, Tony Mehrtens, Richard Ribar, Mark Vaughn and Jimm Walsh.

The Unit Commendation Award was presented to the following members for their efforts on a significant medical emergency: Gene Rodriguez, Richie Rodriguez, Chris Gattis, Rob Harkins, Richard Ribar, Paul Ashton and Johnathan Castro.

The Unit Commendation Award was presented to the following members from the Office of the Fire Marshall (picutred below) for their efforts during the Fire Service Leadership Institute Presentation: Randall Mells, Scott Donovan and Jim Santoro.

New Probationary Firefighters

Five new members joined the ranks of WPFD on January 26, 2009: Scotty McAuley, Daniel Fryer, Vincent Figliolia, John Bonnell, and Bryan Moman. They are pictured below with Fire Chief Jim White and Assistant Chief Pat McCabe during their badge pinning ceremony.

Fire Service Leadership Institute

The department hosted the first offering of the Fire Service Leadership Institute on January 6th and 7th, 2009. Battalion Chief John Salka from New York City Fire Department spoke on Leadership Lessons from the FDNY. More than 100 personnel from departments all over the State of Florida were in attendance. The department is currently planning the next offering of the Leadership Institute for later this year.

New Website Unveiling

After 10 years, Winter Park Fire Rescue is happy to reveal our new website! Working closely with Rollins College student, Sharon Riegsecker, we developed this modern, updated, and fully functional website.