It was a night of honor, awards and goodbyes at the last fire commissioners meeting of the year.
South King Fire and Rescue said goodbye to two long-term commissioners as Roger Hershey and Jerry Harris finished their terms of office.
Both men received standing ovations from the crowd. It was also a night to honor citizens, staff and the department itself.
First things first
First up was an award given to Lt. Robert Bryant, who recently returned from serving in Iraq as part of the National Guard. He was honored by the department for his service to the county. Bryant then turned it around as he awarded a certificate for Outstanding Service to the whole department for their support while he was gone. He also nominated and gave the Patriot Award to Chief Al Church, again for being so supportive of him and his family, and all National Guard members, while they serve.
The fire commissioners previously voted to supplement the gap in pay of a soldier and a firefighter.
Firefighters are often paid more than a reserve or Army National Guardsman. The department has chosen to pay the firefighter the difference so that families do not have to deal with a pay cut while their loved one is away.
This pay can also include time immediately following a soldier’s return for “decompression time,” although this is on a case-by-case basis that goes before the board of commissioners.
During military activations, employees also keep the district’s medical and dental programs, which is done specifically for the spouse and children, according to the department’s policy.
SKFR also holds employment for any firefighter pulled away from the job by military deployment.
Other heroes
The second award of the night was for Jeff Pint, a metro bus driver.
On Halloween night, Pint was alerted by one of his regular passengers and discovered that Christian Stone, who was riding the bus, was in cardiac arrest. Pint stopped the bus “in the middle of 1st Avenue, right next to the WinCo,” he said, and began performing CPR. With his quick action, and the help of the fire crew that responded, Stone was resuscitated outside of a hospital, which is rare, Assistant Chief Ed Plumlee said. The fire crew that responded nominated Pint for the award.
Pint said it wasn’t the first time he had to do CPR in an emergency. He did it once before, on his own father, who also survived.
In addition to the award, the fire department also gave Pint some CPR kits that prevent the spread of diseases (Pint performed the CPR without any protection) in case he performs life-saving maneuvers again.
Other awards given out on Thursday night included recognition for the work of the Zone 3 explorers, a youth group that helps in major events and serves the entire area; an honorary lifetime membership to Commissioner Mark Freitas; and presentation from the Bates School to the department for their support and partnership in helping train future firefighters.
“South King Fire and Rescue wouldn’t be what it is today without the community,” Freitas ended. “Our hats are off to you.”
