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Pinellas Park Fire Promotes Four
Pinellas Park Fire Department proudly promoted four employees on December 17 during a special ceremony at the city's new Performing Arts Center. Ray Hansen was promoted to Deputy Chief of Fire and Life Safety Management following eight years as the District Chief of Training. Ray joined the fire department as a firefighter in 1981 and has been active with numerous specialty teams and committees throughout his 26-year career. He was awarded Firefighter of the Year in 1995. Ray replaces Sandy Sullivan who retired in June after serving as Deputy Chief for eight years.
The District Chief of Training position has been filled by Guy Keirn, whose career with the department spans 23 years. Guy is a certified inspector and instructor, and has served as A-Shift Lieutenant since 1998. He was awarded Firefighter of the Year in 2007.
Lieutenant promotions were announced for Jeremie Larson and Chris Brooks. Jeremie joined the department in 1998 as a Firefighter/Paramedic and is also a certified fire inspector and instructor. Chris has been a Firefighter/EMT since 1998 and is currently on the Pinellas Park Competitive Extrication Team.
Pictured L-R: Fire Chief Doug Lewis, Lt. Jeremie Larson, Deputy Chief Ray Hansen, District Chief Guy Keirn, Lt. Chris Brooks.
Pinellas Park Competes in Extrication Challenge
The PPFD Extrication Team made their debut at the 2006 Southeast Regional Extrication Challenge on June 1 & 2 at the Harborview Center in Clearwater. 15 teams from across the southeast came to the competition to demonstrate their skills in vehicle extrication. Each vehicle crash scenario was set up like the real thing…damaged cars, victims, and limited time to remove the patient from the wreckage using hand tools, pneumatic tools, and hydraulic tools such as the Jaws of Life. PPFD placed 13 out of 15…a great showing for a rookie team. Most importantly, the skills and techniques used for these events greatly enhance the response and service citizens receive on our own streets. Congratulations to the team and a big Thank You to those who came out to cheer them on at the competition.
Shown L-R: Lt. Dean Shepherd, FF/EMT Tony Rooney, FF/PM Rob Day, FF/PM Tim Brooke, Joe Kolodziej from Joe's Towing, FF/PM Roy Spruill, FF/EMT Chris Brooks, and FF/EMT Doug Sliger, and Lt. Tim Barker.
Not Shown: FF/EMT Keith Ellis.
New Hires
A great, big welcome to our newest employees! FF/PM Nathan Gilroy, FF/EMT John Kirby, and FF/PM Ivan Melendez have been assigned to A-Shift under District Chief Lou Sclafani; FF/PM Elliot Carhart is on B-Shift under District Chief Art Winquist, and FF/PM Alan Shedler is on C-Shift under District Chief Gill Hammond.
We would also like to welcome Mike Jackson to the Life Safety Management Division as our newest Fire Inspector/Investigator. Mike was a Lieutenant with St. Petersburg Fire & Rescue and retired recently after a long career there. He is in charge of inspections and investigations in the Pinellas Park area between 110th and 78th Avenues. Welcome!
"Kids Invade Pinellas Park Fire"
- PINELLAS PARK, FL - Parents across the country took their kids out of school on April 27 and put them to work for the annual "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day". The event encourages parents to take their kids to work to show them what their jobs are like. Several parents (and grandparents) with Pinellas Park Fire Department brought their kids to Station 33 for a day of "intense firefighter training". Twenty kids ranging in age from 7 to 14 were placed in five separate companies; truck, engine, rescue, squad, and pumper. The day began with teams competing in a "medic box race" to be the first to find all the medical equipment in each box. The companies then took turns rotating through several drills that gave them a real life view of what their parents do each day. Under extremely close supervision, the kids donned bunker gear and used actual fire and rescue equipment in each scenario. They practiced fire suppression, search and rescue, rapid intervention, auto extrication, and some emergency medical procedures. Probably the most fun they had was using a life-net to catch "victims" (stuffed animals) as they "fell" (okay, they were thrown) from the roof of Station 33. After drills, all the companies cleaned the station and washed the apparatus. Finally, it was time for lunch. The kids were served hamburgers and hotdogs followed by Klondike bars for dessert. After lunch everybody relaxed and watched a slide show presentation of the day's activities.
 
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