Chattanooga Firefighters Honored At Awards Ceremony

Chattanooga firefighters and their families gathered at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Monday night to honor their own. With Mayor Andy Berke and Fire Chief Chris Adams presiding, more than 100 firefighters were recognized for outstanding efforts at emergencies throughout the year in 2016. Among the top awards, Firefighter Preston Benegar was honored as the department's Firefighter of the Year.

Firefighter Binegar was recognized as the firefighter who has made the most significant contribution to the department throughout the course of the year. Captain David Tallent was honored as the department's Fire Officer of the Year. Captain Tallent was recognized as the fire officer who has made the most significant contribution to the department throughout the course of the year. 

Dozens of firefighters were recognized with commendation ribbons for their outstanding efforts in response to the Woodmore bus crash on Nov. 21, 2016. At that horrific scene that killed six young students and garnered national attention, Chattanooga firefighters worked for hours to secure the wreckage and render assistance to all of the students on that bus. Some of the students were trapped by the twisted metal, so a complicated extrication operation was needed. The firefighters relied on their training and professionalism, and worked as fast as they could until every patient was removed from the wreckage. Though lives were tragically lost, more lives were saved, thanks to the the heroic actions of those firefighters. 

Life saving medals were awarded to the following firefighters involved in the Woodmore bus crash: Captain David Tallent, Captain Keith Liles, Captain Al Walker, Lt. Ronnie Goss, FFE Keith Edgemon, FF Brandon Fryar, FF Charles Zinzer and FF Jeffery Bonner. Four civilians were also recognized in connection with the bus wreck. Claudia Sears, Kori Hahn, Mary Smith and Ed Wilson live in the neighborhood where the crash occurred. They were actually the first on the scene and they rendered assistance to the students until first responders arrived.

The following firefighters received life saving medals for incidents they were involved in last year:

Residential Structure Fire Save
FFE Andrew Thomas and FF David Ruffin

Off-duty CPR Save
FFE Edgar Patton

CPR Save
FFS Jack Thompson and FFE Keith Edgmon

CPR Save
Captain Vance Woodward, Lt. Terry Jones and FFS Gabe Thrash

Off-duty Vehicle Crash Save
Fire Chief Chris Adams

FFS Darrell Hinton and FF Daaron Espey

Special awards were given to employees with the city's fleet maintenance, including Titus Jackson, Jacob Picklesimer, Ray Rheal, John Eric Watkins and George Wilson. Captain Kelly Simmons was recognized for his tireless efforts as president of the Forgotten Child Fund.