Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District promoted and recognized six firefighters and paramedics Friday night at its first promotion ceremony.
Receiving recognition and promotions were Josh Marvin, George Virtue, Casey Topp, Devon Bowen, Shannon Pettner and Jared Huenergardt.
Huenergardt was recognized as a new staff paramedic-firefighter.
Virtue, a volunteer, was promoted to lieutenant.
Bowen, a paramedic, was promoted to lieutenant.
Pettner was promoted to battalion chief, succeeding Dave Barringer, who took a position with Albany Fire Department.
Topp, a resident volunteer, received recognition for completing his EMT basic certification.
Marvin was promoted to AIC (acting in capacity) lieutenant.
They’re good at their work, Fire Chief Mike Beaver said of the six, and “they’re good human beings.”
Virtue will have eight years with the department under his belt in May, Beaver said. “He’s done a good job for us. He’s an excellent engineer and firefighter.”
He’s a natural leader and commands the respect of his colleagues, and they trust his judgment, Beaver said. He is active in many areas of the department, serving on the apparatus committee and volunteer association activities.
“Huenergardt started here as a volunteer firefighter and got into our intern medic program,” Beaver said. He has been working at Woodburn Ambulance, but returned to Sweet Home, where he grew up, to take the paramedic-firefighter position.
Bowen has been with the department since October 2002, Beaver said. He is a tireless worker and an excellent firefighter-medic.
“He came to us with a lot of specialized rescue training,” Beaver said. “He’s one of those go-to guys. If you need something done, he’ll do and do it right the first time.”
Pettner has been with the department for six years, Beaver said. She came to the department via Chemeketa Community College in Salem as an intern.
“After she completed that and became certified, she actually was hired by Polk County fire department,” Beaver said. “She kept up with us.”
Pettner came down and helped out with the Oregon Jamboree one year, he said. When Sweet Home had an opening, she applied for the job.
Marvin has been a volunteer for almost four years and was an intern medic for two years. He is now serving as an intern medic for the second time, he said. He is working at Rainier Wood Products and attending Chemeketa to finish his paramedic certification.
Topp, a 2007 Sweet Home High School graduate, joined the department July 1 as part of the new resident volunteer program. He is attending Linn-Benton Community College and will transfer to Chemeketa to complete his paramedic certification.
“This is new for us,” Beaver said of the promotion ceremony. He said he plans to hold more in the future.
Other departments in the area are holding promotion ceremonies as well, Beaver said. It grew out of a seminar given in December by Rick Laskey, fire chief in Louisville, Texas, who will “pretty much tell you what you should be doing.” Laskey visited the department earlier this year and offered tips on improving relations with the community.
Beaver said Laskey is trying to promote pride and ownership, restoring tradition, in the fire service.
“The promotion ceremony is really something he stressed.”
Laskey started out a second-generation firefighter in Chicago, Beaver said, and then became a fire chief in a small town in Idaho before going to Texas. He’s part of a group of fire service historians who travel the country.
In other business, Beaver said, the department is seeking recruits who live in Cascadia. The department pays for all the training and protective clothing.
“They’ve got a new building with fire apparatus in it,” he said. “They should have some volunteers.”
The department has had two volunteers in the area, Beaver said, but it has none at this time, although one new one has applied.