The 2018 Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT) of the Year Award was presented to Master EVT Al Hasenfratz, at the opening session of the Fire Department Safety Officers Association’s (FDSOA) Apparatus Specification and Maintenance Symposium, in Orlando, FL, on Monday.
Hasenfratz, with over 30 years of experience in vehicle repair and 13 years with the Sylvania, OH, Fire-EMS Department, was commended in the nomination as “changing the mechanic/firefighter dynamic” in Sylvania Township. The letter also stressed Hasenfratz’s passion for safety: “Al is always eager to latch onto each and every teaching opportunity to help educate others on the proper and safe best practice.”
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The EVT of the Year award was co-presented by Janet Wilmoth, special projects director for Firehouse, and Rich Marinucci, executive director of FDSOA, and recognizes outstanding efforts to promote a high standard of excellence in quality and safety in emergency vehicles.
In announcing Hasenfratz as the winner, Bill Foster, vice president of award sponsor Spartan Motors, recalled his friendship and admiration for Hasenfratz’s work in the Ohio Association of Emergency Vehicle Technicians.
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Hasenfratz is a Master Heavy Duty EVT, certified by the EVT Certification Commission, and a Master Heavy Duty technician, certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE). He is an active member of the OAEVT, serves an alternate for NFPA 1071: Standard for Emergency Vehicle Technician Professional, and serves on the EVT Certification Commission Task Group.
Wilmoth also recognized EVTY nominee Danny Peluso, who was lead technician for the Holbrook, NY, Fire District and died of cancer on Nov. 27, 2017.
In honoring Peluso, Wilmoth said, “While we hear of the new ‘Clean Cab’ project and firefighter safety, we need to realize that Emergency Vehicle Technicians are also at great risk of exposure to the same carcinogens and toxins while working on emergency vehicles and apparatus. Currently, no one is keeping track of EVTs with cancer—no matter what type.”
The EVT of the Year award was created in 2003 and Call for Nominations are announced in September of each year.
