For the Record 1/21

Hill Named EVT of Year

Jarrett Hill, who is the fleet manager for Rattle Snake Fire Protection District in Parker, CO, was named 2020 Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT) of the Year by Firehouse and the Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA). The award recognizes outstanding efforts to promote a high standard of excellence in quality and safety in emergency vehicles.

Hill, who is certified as both Master EVT Fire and Master EVT Ambulance, has worked as an EVT for 14 years and provides repairs to 12 fire departments. He also takes time to educate members of the departments that he services on repairs as well as how to better maintain their vehicles.
Other EVTs who were recognized include:

• Second place—Mike Wilkins, fleet services technician/EVT specialist for Public Works (Fleet Management) in Santa Barbara, CA 
• Third place—Howard Smith, shop supervisor for Matanuska-Susitna Borough’s Department of Emergency Services in Wasilla, AK
• Fourth place—Red Haney, emergency vehicle technician for the Spring, TX, Fire Department
• Fifth place—Gregory Miller, shop supervisor for the Houston Fire Department

The 2020 EVT of the Year Award is sponsored by Spartan Motors and co-presented by Firehouse and the FDSOA.

Firehouse Names New Editorial Advisory Board

The Firehouse Editorial Advisory Board comprises experts from various ranks and regions of the American fire service who will provide guidance to the Firehouse brand, including Firehouse Magazine, Firehouse.com, Firehouse Expo and Station Design Conference. The board includes chiefs, fire officers and firefighters, as well as representatives of key fire service organizations that are involved in fire department operations, management, leadership and research.

The members of the new Firehouse Editorial Advisory Board are:

• Frank Becerra, Firefighter, Fort Worth, TX, Fire Department
• Chad Costa, Battalion Chief, City of Petaluma, CA, Fire Department
• Steve Hirsch, Chairman, National Volunteer Fire Council
• Charles Hood, Fire Chief, San Antonio, TX, Fire Department
• Moses Jefferies, Captain, Nashville, TN, Fire Department
• Glenn Johnson, Fire Chief, Franklin, TN, Fire Department
• Ryan Pennington, Captain, Charleston, WV, Fire Department
• Brian Schaffer, Fire Chief, Spokane, WA, Fire Department
• Judy Thill, Fire Chief, Inver Grove Heights, MN, Fire Department
• John Tippett, Director of Fire Service Programs, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation
• Craig Weinschenk, Research Engineer, UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute
• Devon Wells, Past President, International Society of Fire Service Instructors
• Janet Wilmoth, Special Projects Director, Firehouse

Firehouse Editor-in-Chief Peter Matthews said, “I’m glad such a diverse group of fire service leaders are able to advise our editors about the trends in today’s fire service and guide us toward educating our audience about the future of firefighter operations.” 

The historic Rotary Club of Charleston, SC, presented its first Community Impact-Recognition Award to Battalion Chief David Griffin. Griffin, who is the author of the Leadership Lessons column in Firehouse Magazine, was nominated by the Charleston Fire Department (CFD) Command Staff and has been recognized as the “go to guy” for many of the projects in the CFD, whether it is the honor guard, various internal assignments or being the constant connection with CFD retirees to make sure that they know that they still are a part of the CFD family.

To access the online course, visit, training.ulfirefightersafety.org/course/003-photovoltaic-systems.

Line-of-Duty Deaths

9 U.S. firefighters recently died in the line of duty. Four firefighters died from health-related issues, four died in motor vehicle accidents and one died after contracting COVID-19. This issue of Firehouse is dedicated to these firefighters. For the latest on COVID-19-related LODDs, visit firehouse.com/covid-19.

FIRE POLICE CAPTAIN/FIRST VICE PRESIDENT DONALD E. TRZEPACZ, SR., 67, of Spring Brook Fire District #1 in Elma, NY, died on Sept. 2. Trzepacz attended a mandatory meeting at the fire department to review and discuss new recruitment applications. He informed the second vice president that he wasn’t feeling well, left the meeting and returned home. He was found deceased from an apparent heart attack the next morning. 

FIREFIGHTER JOHNNY IVISON, JR., 23, of the Easton, KS, Township Fire Department, died on Nov. 8. Ivison was responding in his privately owned vehicle to a call of a residential fire when it went off the road. Ivison attempted to correct his path but overcorrected, which caused the truck to roll over numerous times, ejecting him from the vehicle. He died from the injuries that he sustained in the crash. 

ENGINEER MATTHEW BENNETT, 49, of the Indianapolis Fire Department, died on Nov. 14. Bennett drove Engine 1 to a possible structural collapse after a car drove into a house. Upon his arrival, and as crews began to work, Bennett complained to the EMS duty officer who was on scene that he was experiencing chest pains. The officer escorted Bennett to an ambulance to be evaluated. Bennett was transported to a hospital and taken into surgery. He died the following afternoon. The nature and cause of the fatal injury still are to be determined. 

INTERIM ASSISTANT CHIEF SEAN LAFFAN, 42, of the Oakland, CA, Fire Department, died on Nov. 16. Laffan collapsed in an office of the Oakland Fire Department’s administrative building. He was taken by ambulance to Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, where he died later that evening after suffering a prolonged cardiac arrest. 

CAPT. JOSEPH GALLO, 34, of the Blissfield Township, MI, Fire Department, died on Nov. 17. While responding to a barn fire, Gallo was driving a vehicle that had its emergency lights activated. As he drove on a gravel portion of the road, he lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle rolled, and Gallo was ejected. He was transported to ProMedica Toledo Hospital, where he was pronounced dead from the injuries that he sustained. 

FIREFIGHTER MICHAEL BUITENDORP, 40, of the Grant Township Fire Department in Rothbury, MI, died on Nov. 18. Buitendorp lost consciousness as he was driving a fire department tanker to the scene of a camper fire in Otto Township. The firefighter who was with him was able to stop the apparatus and call for help. Grant Township firefighters and EMS personnel performed life-saving measures before Buitendorp was transported to Mercy Health Lakeshore Campus, where he later died. The cause of his death is under investigation. 

CAPT. ROBERT “BOBBY” ROCHA, 60, of the Kansas City, MO, Fire Department, died on Nov. 21. While on duty on Oct. 23, Rocha contracted COVID-19 from a patient who had a known case of the disease. He was hospitalized on Nov. 12 and died a week later.

FIREFIGHTER/EMT ROBERT CREE, 72, of the Harrison Township Volunteer Fire Department in Lucerne, IN, died on Nov. 22. Upon returning home from responding to a medical emergency at a residence, Cree collapsed from an apparent heart attack. Crews arrived at his home and performed CPR. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

FIREFIGHTER/EMT ALAN BASSO, 59, of Cowlitz County Fire District 5 in Kalama, WA, died on Nov. 27. Basso, who earlier in the day responded to two medical emergency calls, was driving in the downtown area of Kalama when his vehicle collided with several parked vehicles. He was unconscious and not breathing, suffering a cardiac arrest. CPR was initiated by a nearby off-duty Portland firefighter. Basso was transported to PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.