PALMER -- Longtime Palmer firefighter Todd Russell was awarded this year's Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce 2003 Hero Award on Wednesday for his service and dedication to the safety of Palmer and its residents.

"If you need the job done, you give it to him," said Dan Contini, the Palmer Fire Department fire chief who presented the award. Russell has been a volunteer with the department since 1992, and has been the top responder to fire calls for the past five years; in 2002 he responded to 107 of 157 calls made in the Palmer area. In March, during the windstorm that wreaked

havoc on Palmer and the rest of the Valley, Russell was injured during a fire call. While he has been able to go back to his regular job working as a building custodian for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, he has not been able to return to firefighting.

Palmer Fire Chief Dan Contini, left, spoke kind words about 2003 Hero Award recipient Todd Russell at the Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce luncheon meeting this week. Russell, who was injured during a fire last spring, had no idea he was receiving the award. Photo by JEN RANSOM/Frontiersman.

"I haven't been released by the doctor yet," Russell said. "I have an appointment soon. I hope to be released then."

Russell, who is a firefighter 1, a rescue technician, an engineer and a fire captain, had no idea he was to receive the award.

"I thought I was just coming to a safety meeting," he said. "I had no idea. It was a surprise."

The Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce gives the Hero Award as a way to recognize local heroes while remembering the heroes that lost their lives during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks of 2001. This was the second year the chamber awarded the honor.