San Juan Island Fire & Rescue Honored for 2019 Service

Submitted by San Juan Island Fire and Rescue

Fire District Commissioners and honored guests recently attended an annual awards dinner and ceremony recognizing San Juan Island Fire and Rescue members for their service during 2019.

Kathleen Salinas was presented with the 2019 Firefighter of the Year award for her outstanding contributions on a number of initiatives and her commitment to her community and to SJFR. Kathleen is a volunteer firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician and she was selected for her leadership in community risk reduction and fire prevention through the Firewise program and her overall work as a committed, responding firefighter, EMT and fireboat operator.

Brad Smith received the 2019 Rookie of the Year award for his commitment and performance during training, as well as his excellent response work on calls. Volunteer firefighter Smith has exhibited outstanding professionalism, commitment and performance as one of our newest volunteer firefighters.

At this year’s ceremony, Fire District Commissioners and SJIFR Chief Norvin Collins announced the presentation of four new awards:

The first Unit Citation Award was awarded to the Marine Responders, the operators and crew of San Juan Island Fireboat One. The Marine Responders were recognized for commitment to extra duty training and response calls in 2019. San Juan Island Fire & Rescue Captain Kurt Long accepted the citation on behalf of the 17 qualified boat operators and crewmembers.

Chief Collins awarded the first Fire Chief’s Award to Robin Garcia. Robin is a payroll deputy under San Juan County Auditor Milene Henley. In her role with the Auditor’s Office, Robin provided outstanding support to San Juan Island Fire & Rescue.

The inaugural Commissioner’s award was presented to Commissioners’ Award to Harry See for his many years of committed service in a wide number of roles with SJIF&R and for his continued leadership.

The inaugural Honorary Life Member Award was presented to Fire Commissioner Albert Olson for his years of service to the district as a firefighter, fire tender operator and Commissioner. Commissioner Olson has served as a dedicated volunteer with SJIFR since 1997.

Special recognition was given to SJIFR’s top volunteer responder in 2019. Brooke Sevier responded to 150 emergency calls in 2019.

Total SJIFR emergency response milestones recognized include:

• One hundred Emergency Responses: Ian Joujan, Austin Foster, Kathleen Salinas, John Salinas,

Adam Greene, Chuck Dalldorf and Michael Jacobsen

• Two hundred-fifty Emergency Responses: Dave Mountford, Craig McConnell, Dennis Sears, Jerry Sears and Victor Capron

• Five hundred Emergency Responses: Ron Stanger, Erin Graham and Brien Sesby

Recognition for Total Years of Service to SJIFR included:

• One-year of Service: Alan Arrowsmith; Leo De Bruyn; Nate Fihn; Cammille Layton; Izaac Newell; Erik Rezabek; Jenny Shrum; Brad Smith; Karen Gentry; Sue Ann Stabley; and Kelsey Venegas

• 5-years of Service: Sam Ibold and Nick Wainwright

• 10-years of Service: Gilbert Venegas

• 15-years of Service: Brien Sesby

• 20-years of Service: Mark Tompkins and Jon Zerby

• 25-years of Service: Ron Stanger

• 30-years of Service: Peter and Susan Risser

The inaugural Commissioner’s award was presented to Commissioners’ Award to Harry See for