Liberal, KS

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Liberal Fire Department Award & Recognition Ceremony

Joe Denoyer - March 20, 2018 4:16 pm

Liberal Fire Department Award & Recognition Ceremony

Members of the Liberal Fire Department gathered Saturday March 10th at the Randall Girls Scout Building for their annual awards and recognition ceremony. This event provides an opportunity to recognize individuals for years of service and also to present peer recognition awards for the 2017 calendar year.

This year recognition was given to Deputy Fire Chief Skeety Poulton for 25 years of service.

Chief Poulton began his career with the Liberal Fire Department as a Volunteer Firefighter in March 1992. He was selected to join the full time ranks in December of 1993.  After a short time serving as a Firefighter / EMT he was promoted to “B” Shift Captain the position he held until his promotion to Deputy Fire Chief in 2008.

Also receiving peer recognition awards:

Rookie of the Year:  Joseph Navarro

Joseph joined the Liberal FD in July 2016 and in his first year of service attained both his Firefighter I and Kansas EMT certification.  He has also made great strides toward his Firefighter II certificate and is a valued asset to the department.

Officer of the Year:  Tyson Rice

Tyson is now in his tenth year of service to the department.  He was promoted to Lieutenant in 2012 and has served in that capacity since that time.  Tyson is fully certified per department requirements and continues to add to his ability and training.  He also serves as one of three certified fire / arson investigators for the department.

Full-time Firefighter of the Year:  Aaron Luman

Aaron joined the department in May 2014 and received promotion to the position of Lieutenant in May 2016.  Aaron has accomplished a tremendous amount is his first three plus years with the department and has been an integral part of coordinating training and events for the department in the past couple of years.  He is truly proven himself to be a strong candidate to lead the fire department into the future.

Volunteer Firefighter of the Year:  Wes Fox

Wes joined the department in June 2017.  Wes is currently a teacher at Liberal High School and is undertaking a project in developing a curriculum to begin teaching Firefighter I and Hazardous Materials Operations Level training to students in the Career and Technical Education pathway.  This will be a great value to local and area fire departments to develop future home-grown emergency responders to serve our community.  Through hard work and dedication Wes has nearly completed both Firefighter I certification and Fire Service Instructor certification in his short time with the department.

Outstanding Firefighter of the Year:  Erick Rodriguez

This is highest honor voted on by an individual’s peers and supervisors within the department.  Erick joined the department in February 2015 and has taken a fast track in obtaining all of his necessary certifications.  He has proven himself as a respected member of the department and is quickly developing into a true leader on the department.  Erick is an extremely valuable asset to the department, the city and the community.

The ceremony concluded with a presentation from the members of the department to Chief Kelly Kirk and Deputy Chief Skeety Poulton.  Both were presented with a gift of a traditional leather helmet and commemorative shield from all the firefighters on the department.

 

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