Palmer Fire and Rescue honors firefighters with awards

PALMER — Palmer Fire and Rescue held a virtual award ceremony recently, honoring the service of dedicated firefighters, officers, rescue technicians and explorers during 2020. Palmer Fire and Rescue Chief Chad Cameron also awarded Assistant Chiefs Dave Byers, Todd Russell and Deputy Chief Dave Lundin with the Chief’s Award of Excellence for their outstanding performance.

“I think it’s really important. I think we have a lot of high performing members in the community that for the most part volunteer to be here and volunteer to serve the community and to recognize some of their outstanding efforts is outstanding. I put it online on Facebook so the community would recognize that they were deserving as well,” said Cameron. “I don’t think people realize that people are coming in to do this work on top of going to school, on top of having another job, on top of other things. The Chief’s Award of Excellence, they carried the department on top of their normal jobs and so really they were pulling two jobs at the same time and they took turns doing it in three month stints but they were able to accomplish their jobs.”

Typically, Palmer Fire and Rescue’s awards are distributed at the discretion of the Chief. After arriving as the new Chief last December, Cameron changed the process, allowing firefighters to nominate their peers for awards instead. Lieutenant Eleanor Johnston logged 1,367 hours was one of many honored for Top Participation. Firefighter Joseph Balnius was honored as the Rescue Technician of the Year and Johnson was also honored as the Officer of the Year. Firefighter Colt Graham was honored as the Firefighter of the Year.

“Colt screams genuine in everything he does. He enters training, duty crews, calls, projects, and so much more with true and genuine intentions of only the best and not just for himself but the department as a whole. He is calm and has a way of calming me. Even though I have a year on him I learn from him every day. He is absolutely one I will go into a fire with every time. He is a natural leader and mentor and I look forward to the years to come working with him,” wrote a fellow firefighter about Graham.

Palmer Fire and Rescue also has an Explorer program, allowing 14 to 18 year olds with at least a 2.0 grade point average and no ‘F’ grades to learn the skills of firefighting.

“They start learning craft and more importantly for me, we really teach them about service to the community and service to others,” said Cameron.

Ty MacKenzie was honored as the Explorer of the Year.

“This kid is a sponge. He is eager to learn, wanting to hear stories and experiences in order to better himself. He is very selfless and respectful. He has a drive to help his fellow firefighters and serve his community. He doesn’t mind saying I’m here to help I don’t know what I’m doing but I will learn it quickly and be an asset. A very invaluable drive and positive mindset,” wrote Palmer Firefighters about MacKenzie.