The Hotel Pattee served as host for the 29th annual Perry Fire Association Awards and Appreciation Supper Saturday.
Perry Mayor Jay Pattee opened the event, sharing a joke with the crowd before noting “the great things all of you do” for the city.
Pattee mentioned Thursday evening’s house fire in Perry, sharing his admiration for the firefighters as they endured adverse weather conditions while trying to extinguish the blaze.
“I can’t imagine how hard that was, because after the hail it gets cold, and I can’t think working with water trying to put out a fire when its cold is much fun, except then it starts to snow,” he said. “You guys went above and beyond the call to get it put out. As the mayor, and on behalf of the community, I want to thank you for all the things you do.”
After a dinner of prime rib and chicken, Captain Andy Modlin, Third Assistant Chief Grason Hill and First Assistant Chief Brian Eiteman pulled raffle tickets, giving away a wide variety of items. Many members were also given fleece blankets.
Pins for five years of service were presented to Jim Leber, Andy Smith and Kimberly Williams, with Joel Bragg, Rodney Cromwell, Ronny Defenbaugh, Kevin Kanealy, Clint Nelsen and Richard Steadman honored for 10 years of service while Brian Eiteman was awarded for 25 years with the department, having joined in 1992.
Captain Matt Hix was named Firefighter of the Year, with fellow Captain Modlin (both joined in 2009) introducing Hix.
“It really pains me to present this to this individual,” he joked. “He was only selected because there was nobody else …”
Hix, noting Modlin had received the distinction last year, fired a quick rejoinder.
“Just remember,” he told Modlin, “now that we are equal it means you are behind me.”
Travis Murphy was selected to receive the tongue-in-cheek Driver of the Year award, the second time he has been “distinguished” by his fellows.
Jay Rice was named Rookie of the Year, with Chief Chris Hinds honoring Cromwell with the “Above and Beyond” award for his dedication to the department and help with mechanical issues.
The Perry Fire Association counts 42 active members. Forty are firefighters, with 36 classified Firefighter Level One and 28 Firefighter Level Two. There are eight Emergency Medical Technicians, seven First Responders, seven Driver Operators and four SCUBA divers.
The PFA responded to 96 fire calls in 2016. Accidents (19) were the most common call, followed by “Other” with 17 and Structure Fires and Alarm Investigations at 15 apiece. There were seven grass/brush fires and seven vehicle fires, with four tractor fires, four power outages and four natural gas calls. Three false alarms were responded to, along with one river rescue.
Members with the most individual responses were, in order: Aimee Bane, Brian Eiteman and Rodney Cromwell, Jason Bane, Clint Nelsen, Dave Barkley, Israel Baltazar, Pat Eastman, Grason Hill, Joel Eiteman and James Moreland.
Calendar year 2016 saw 323 EMS calls, classified as Lift Assists, Refusals, Ambulance Assists and 10-22’s (disregard last assignment). Of those listed by type, Fire Standby (28) and Car Accidents (19) were most prevalent. Also listed were Dawson State Response (10), CPR (8), DOA (2) and one shooting and one homicide call.
Deanna Eiteman (151) had the top number of call responses, with Brian Eiteman (111), Jason Bane (106), Aimee Bane (99) and Clint Nelsen (75) rounding out the top five.
Dancing and fellowship followed the award ceremony, with music provided by Graney Entertainment of Perry.