Leading by example
Photo courtesy Coeur d'Alene Fire Department Capt. Joe Lind was named the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department's 2019 Employee of the year.
Photo courtesy Coeur d'Alene Fire Department Coeur d'Alene firefighter Ben Kaiser was recently awarded the “Ironman Award” for responding to the largest number of emergency calls for the year, 1,185 a department record.
Capt. Joe Lind was recently named the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department's 2019 Employee of the year.
“Joe is incredibly knowledgeable, is a great mentor, is very easy to work with, constantly encourages professional growth and is an integral part of CDAFD arriving on scene to solve problems and make someone’s day a lot better,” a nomination letter read.
“Captain Lind works at the busiest fire house in Coeur d’Alene, and leads them through calls for service, public education, and training … He never called in sick and worked over 30 extra shifts, the equivalent of three months of extra firefighter shifts throughout the year,” a second letter said.
The Coeur d’Alene Fire Department held a limited in-person awards ceremony to honor its staff and community. This ceremony was initially slated for March 2020 but was canceled due to coronavirus restrictions.
The awards ceremony for 2020 will be combined with the 2021 awards and be held in March 2022.
Other awards were the “1,000 Call Club”:
Firefighters Greg Thaxton, Erik Loney, Chris Kieres, Max McCormick and Ben Kaiser.
Ben Kaiser was also awarded the “Ironman Award” for responding to the largest number of emergency calls for the year, 1,185, a department record.
A Unit Citation and Lifesaving Award was presented to personnel for their actions during an active shooter event on the Fourth of July at City Park in 2019. They included: Firefighters Blaine Porter, Niko Caballero, Travis Georgius, Matt Glenn, Max McCormick, Christopher Pickett, and Ryan Whitelaw.
Paramedics Cody Moore and Scott Robinson were honored for their leadership and management of North Idaho Disaster Dogs.
The Civilian Appreciation Award was presented to Scott and Ashley Ansel of Northwest Pet Resort for their support of the Idaho Disaster Dogs Team.
Dr. April Sherman and Nicole Keltner of Rathdrum Animal Clinic were also given a Civilian Appreciation Award for their support of the Idaho Disaster Dog Team.
An Award of Exemplary Action was presented to Brian Rhead and Corey Oscarson from Kootenai Electric for their quick actions to help at the scene of a crash on the U.S. 95 bridge over the Spokane River.
“Our guys do not do this job for credit or accolades, and they do amazing things every day in our community," said Fire Chief Kenny Gabriel. "But it is very important that we take the time to recognize some of the exceptional things they do.”
