NEW BERLIN – Firefighters from all across Chenango County came together in the Village of New Berlin Friday night to honor past members and the achievements of those still involved in the fire service.
Before attending the annual 2009 Chenango County Firemen’s Convention banquet, open to all 21 fire departments in Chenango, more than 100 firefighters and their families attended a memorial service at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.
Following the ceremony, the New Berlin Fire Department hosted the convention’s banquet at its fire station and honored members for their lifetime achievements and named the fireman of the year.
“We are glad to be here tonight. We are here to recognize your service and the sacrifices you’ve all made in keeping our communities safe,” said New Berlin Volunteer Fire Chief Shawn Patrick.
“We are here tonight not to simply honor the fire bureau; we are here tonight to honor each one of you,” remarked former New Berlin Fire Chief George Hanslmaier to the crowd of EMS and fire service members, nearly all of them volunteers.
Chenango County Fire Coordinator Matthew L. Beckwith addressed the crowd updating the current state of the Chenango County Bureau of Fire. Following Beckwith’s remarks, the four candidates for Chenango County Fireman of the Year were announced: Ken Strong of Afton Fire Department, Joe Eggleston of the Greene Fire Department, Ronald Beckwith of the Pharsalia Fire Department and Ray Baldwin of the Oxford Fire Department. All together, the four men represent over a century’s worth of experience in local fire service.
Later that night, an emotional Beckwith again took to the podium to announce this year’s recipient.
“It is a very well known fact that the evolution of becoming a firefighter is based off family tradition, heritage, and is passed on from generation to generation. This year’s award recipient was not only exposed to the fire service by his father, but has also done his part in continuing the tradition by passing along his knowledge and experience to his children,” he said.
Ronald Beckwith, father to Matthew and to Michael K. Beckwith, deputy Chenango County fire coordinator, was named the 2009 Fireman of the year.
Ron was a founding member of the McDonough Fire Department and his includes service in the Pharsalia Fire Department as well. He held the office of Fire Chief for a total of 21 years, 8 with McDonough and 13 with Pharsalia.
“Two of his more memorable incidents include the F2 tornado of that went across two townships causing havoc to the Pharsalia community in 1998 and the county’s largest fatal fire where three children and one adult were killed,” Matthew told the crowd.
Robert Handy, of the Norwich Fire Department, was also honored at the dinner with the Howard Bartlett Memorial Award.
Bartlett was an extremely active firefighter in Chenango County, helping many of the area volunteer departments organize themselves while he served as president of the Chenango County Fire Association from 1926 to 1962.
He is credited with helping to shape the agency’s current goals and for his part in establishing a mutual aid policy in conjunction with a county wide communications system.
The award honors the lifetime achievements and contributions of the recipient. Handy ironically founded the award in 1994 and received the first fireman of the year award ever handed out in 1966.
“We’ve come a long way on one simple principle; if your house is on fire, I’ll help you put it out and if mine’s on fire, you’ll come over to help me put mine out,” said Handy.
Bainbridge Fire Chief Brad Larsen accepted an award given to his entire department for its exemplary training program and the ongoing efforts of its members to extend their qualifications. This is the first year the County Training Award was given and Matthew Beckwith said it would become an annual event.
“We want to honor those who are working hard at continuing their training. We want to create a sense of competition and pride when it comes to a department’s qualifications and we want to kick those of you at the end of the list in the rear, so you’ll get going,” he joked with members.
This weekend, the convention will return to New Berlin to participate in the 48th annual Youth Days celebration.
The carnival takes place all through the weekend on the grounds of Milford Academy in downtown New Berlin along South Main Street.
The firefighters will be in the Saturday night parade at 6 p.m., followed the next day by a firematics competition and fire equipment expo behind Milford Academy at Fish Field.
Registration for the firematics will start at 9 a.m. Sunday. The firematics competitions include a number of fun skill challenges between the area departments.
One competition, Midnight Alarm, pits crews against each other in timed races to suit up in full turn-out gear. Other competitions feature the hose battle, wherein teams carefully aim powerful hoses at a large ball placed between them; the first team to push it over to the other scores a point. The matches will be between service crews, with a separate category for the department’s respective high school explorer groups.
The host for the 2010 convention will be the Bainbridge Fire Department.