Firefighters with the Henderson Fire Department stand ready to respond to calls across the city, and earlier this month, they gathered to honor several among their ranks at the 45th annual awards banquet.
Fire Chief Steve Cordell said being a firefighter requires service and dedication and the individuals with the city’s fire department are true public servants. The 45th annual banquet was Jan. 12 at Clearview Church.
Battalion Chief Lee Edmonds received the Firefighter of the Year award and Cordell told John C. Rose on Wednesday’s Town Talk that Edmonds truly deserves the recognition.
The nominating committee put forth Edmonds’ name because of his behind-the-scenes efforts in navigating the department through new reporting systems with training and troubleshooting.
“Lee was the backbone of all that,” Cordell said. He trained the firefighters and also was the first person to tackle computer-related issues on the trucks or around the station.
“When staffing levels were short, Lee would jump on the truck,” Cordell said. Edmonds would fill in for firefighters who needed to take a day off, which allowed the department to stay fully staffed and ready to answer fire calls.
Edmonds worked his way through the ranks of the fire department, from fireman to engineer to captain over fire prevention and education.
“Lee takes so much pride and (is) dedicated in that job,” Cordell said. Fire prevention is a 365-day event, he added, and Edmonds is in the community every day spreading that message, with eagerness, dedication and enthusiasm.
Firefighter Matthew Pearce was presented the Valor Award, which Cordell explained is given to a firefighter who puts their life on the line to save others. Pearce was at the Dabney Drive Food Lion buying groceries when a man asked if his grandson could see the fire truck. The firefighters took their time and gave the young fellow a tour, Cordell said. But afterward, the little guy, in his enthusiasm, dashed into the path of an oncoming car in the parking lot. “Pearce jumped out, grabbed that kid and spun his back” to the oncoming vehicle. “If anyone was going to take a direct impact, it would be him,” he added.
For unselfishly putting himself in harm’s way, Pearce was awarded the fire department’s highest honor.
Capt. William Boyd was presented the Chief’s Award, which is given to a firefighter who performs his work but who also contributes to the community away from the fire station. Boyd is a deacon in his church, a family man and he also volunteers as a coach for the local high school football team.
“Not only does he give to his church, his family and community, he served our country,” Cordell said of Boyd.
Cordell said it’s been fun to watch Boyd grow as a firefighter. First as an engine captain and now a company officer, he “takes his wealth of knowledge and takes his company of men and tries to make his firefighters better than when they came into the station” every day, he added.
Cordell also acknowledged that his department honored him with an award of appreciation, an act that rendered him speechless at the banquet and an act that, days later, he said he still is processing.
“It’s a moment that I never would have expected, but it meant the world to me,” Cordell said.
“My job is to fight for those (firefighters) to make sure they have tools and equip to be safe and to do their jobs – they’re my family. Cordell’s assessment? The city of Henderson has a great fire department,” full of individuals that work together to save and protect and serve.
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