Friday, October 19, 2001
Friday, October 19, 2001 |
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Firefighters promoted in Peachtree City ceremony By SALLIE
SATTERTHWAITE
Chief Stony Lohr, assistant Chief Ed Eiswerth, and family members pinned insignia on two newly minted fire department lieutenants and eight new sergeants in a first-of-its-kind promotion ceremony at Leach Station Sunday. Peki Prince and David Williamson were promoted to lieutenant. Sergeants receiving insignia were Chester Cannady, Chris Campbell, John Dunlap, Robert Harkins, Mike Hunnicutt, Darrell Neese, Scott Waller, and Mark Gelhardt. Jeremy Carlisle and David Winkles also made sergeant, but were not present. Lohr said these officers met national standards used as benchmarks and guidelines for the accreditation process in which the department is currently engaged. "Accreditation mandates that there be current written job descriptions for every position and that persons selected for those positions meet the requirements," he said. Candidates were evaluated by representatives of other fire departments to ensure that "there is an open and fair competitive process to select the best qualified person or persons for promotion." None received less than a "very good" rating. All the newly promoted officers except Gelhardt are career firefighters/paramedics. He is a volunteer firefighter/EMT who recently retired as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and is now with World Airways. Throughout his 22 years of service to country, he also was a volunteer with local fire departments. Prince is a 16-year veteran, having begun with Fayette County EMS. She's been with Peachtree City for 10 years. She is in charge of EMS operations, including training, and is the department liaison with state and regional level public health officials. She also serves as commander of the departmental honor guard. Her teen-aged son Kyle, a member of the department's Explorer Troop, is already planning to follow both his parents into a career with the fire service. Williamson is the training lieutenant under Capt. Tom Hughey, and is responsible for both career personnel and volunteers meeting national and state training standards. He coordinates the specialty instructors needed to keep firefighters abreast of current technology and skills, and serves as volunteer coordinator. The new officers have been with the local department from one year to almost 13 years. Dunlap combines nearly six years as a volunteer with seven as a career member; Campbell began as a member of the department's Explorer Scout troop, served two years as a volunteer, and hired on eight years ago. Campbell also was part of a team that received the city's first Distinguished Service Citation for Valor in 1999. They entered a burning building "a significant house fire," according to Prince and found a child hiding upstairs. "It was definitely a save," said Prince. All but one or two of the new promotees have bachelor's degrees; Gelhardt holds a master's. Every one of them has added extensive credentials as hazardous-material specialists, members of the dive team, fire science and emergency medical instructors, fire inspectors, or fire safety educators. A few noted special areas of interest: Carlisle is considered the best cook in the department. Hunnicutt is a certified police officer. Waller, whose father is a lieutenant with the Clayton Co. Fire Department, was the official ice sculptor for the 1980 presidential inauguration. And Neese was a member of Georgia Tech's 1990 national championship football team. Chief Lohr told the new officers and their families that while the fire service must face new challenges with new technology and new services, their basic mandate stays the same to take care of people. "I am extremely proud of all the promotion candidates," he said. "They have worked very diligently and have achieved a level of nationally recognized professionalism that is as good or better than any department in the country. "That is why," he concluded, "all the outside evaluators could truthfully say that they would have been proud to take any one of the candidates back to their own departments to serve as an officer."
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