During the Mason Fire Department’s annual department breakfast in December, Chief Anthony Burns revived a department tradition of recognizing members of the department who were exemplary during the year, recognizing a firefighter, EMS provider, rookie and officer of the year.

Burns said it had been a number of years since the department has given out these awards.

“Chief [David] Cook did it years and years ago, in the (19)90s or 2000s, and it just fell out of favor over the years,” Burns said. “I decided I’d pick it back up, because who doesn’t like to be recognized?”

Burns said that those recognized by the department this year were all “exceptional people.”

Firefighter of the Year was awarded to Zac Partridge, who responded to more than half of all emergencies and department drills last year, in addition to completing the state’s Firefighter I certification and the National Emergency Medical Responder program.

Within the department, Partridge has been working on assessing the department’s fill site, and assisting with the creation of a maintenance plan for them. Altogether, Partridge committed 333 hours to training last year for his volunteer position, while working a full-time job.

Trainee Melissa Rantamaki was recognized as Rookie of the Year. Rantamaki joined the department in 2022, and in that time has attained a commercial driver’s license and become a driver for the department.She has also attended specialized training to operate the pumper truck. In the coming year, she is enrolled to attend the Emergency Medical Responder program, and plans to join the EMS side of the department upon completion.

Lt. Kirk Smith was recognized as Officer of the Year. Smith, who marked his 15th year with the department in 2022, recently took training to obtain the license needed to become a driver for the department, including arranging for training with the Hollis Fire Department to undergo the testing portion of the program.

EMS Provider of the Year was Heidi Delorme. Delorme is one of the department’s primary weekday responders, and responds to all daytime emergencies between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., which represented a significant amount of the town’s call volume in 2022.

“These people stepped up and are an inspiration to the staff and a testament to the type of people we are looking for at the Mason Fire-EMS Department and deserved to be recognized for their accomplishments. No one person can do this alone and with a staff like ours we don’t have to,” Burns said.

In addition to recognizing department standouts, the department also recognized five members who had reached significant anniversaries.

EMT Kathy Chapman was recognized for 20 years of service with the department. Smith, in addition to his Officer of the Year award, was recognized for 15 years of service, while firefighters Bryan Herrin and Lee Lemoine for were recognized for 10 years, and EMT A. Michael Brampton for five years.

 

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.

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