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Additionally, 36 employees promoted and 47 Lifesaving Medals were distributed for excellent service to the City of Ventura.
“The City is blessed to have so many exemplary firefighters and staff who go above and beyond to serve our community. They provide all-hazards emergency response, perform life-saving actions each day, and often times provide care and compassion to people on their toughest day,” said Fire Chief David Endaya.
“This year’s event was extra special as it was the first time we’ve gathered to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of our team.”
At the ceremony, service awards and recent retirements were also commemorated.
Engineer Eric Craddock received the Firefighter of the Year award for his dedication to fire and rescue training, leading the oversight at the Fire Training grounds, and embodying the highest standards of the fire service.
The Greg Andrews Safety Award, recognizing a continued commitment to ensuring a safer workplace for all, was presented to Firefighter-Paramedic James Kenney.
Kenney devoted hundreds of hours on developing maps for crew responses to several of Ventura’s large complexes.
Without these critical maps and level of detail required to design them, lifesaving minutes navigating buildings would be lost.
The Nancy Merman Paramedic of the Year honor was awarded to Engineer Kyle Tong.
“Kyle has worked tirelessly on grant opportunities for the department, including a grant where we were able to purchase LUCAS CPR devices for each apparatus,” said Emergency Medical Services Coordinator Heather Ellis.
“He has trained every firefighter on this device. His is a true asset to our agency.”
Captain Mark Nielsen and Firefighter-Paramedic William Nackers were both honored for exceptional duty for their ingenuity in providing life-saving service, going above and beyond the call of duty, and upholding the department’s core values.
Finally, Danielle Motherspaw was recognized as the Fire Prevention Employee of the Year. Danielle provides exceptional service with a smile, can be called upon at any time to assist a coworker, and demonstrates pride in producing quality work.
Health and safety restrictions and a shift in priorities during the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the annual ceremonies honoring excellent service and the promotions of employees since 2019.
