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Thursday, March 20, 2008

Moriarty Fire Department Honors Its Employees

By Laura Nesbitt
Mountain View Telegraph
    With American flags, red-white-and-blue balloons and candles on eight tables each covered with a white tablecloth, paid and volunteer staff members were celebrated at the 10th annual Moriarty Fire Department Awards Banquet.
    The catered dinner was March 15 at the Moriarty Civic Center, with about 50 people in attendance.
    Billy Bobs restaurant staff served chicken Parmesan on a bed of linguine, pineapple-marinated sirloin kebabs, Cajun rice with ground meat spices, Caesar salad, garlic mashed potatoes, fresh garden vegetables and Italian stuffed tomatoes, said Mike Emmons, Billy Bobs owner. Dessert was New Orleans-style bread pudding with white caramel sauce.
    After Chief Dave Cohen— who has worked for the department for 10 years and has attended every awards banquet— welcomed his hard-working staff, Capt. Steve Spann spoke. Spann said it was important to include the entire staff of firefighters.
    "It used to be a brotherhood, but in looking for a word for both men and women, I believe that word is family," Spann said to lots of applause from the audience.
    "I am proud to serve with all of you, and I am proud of your dedication," Spann said.
    The department has a paid staff of three. The rest of the firefighters are volunteers.
    Although many appreciation awards were given to the firefighters, along with raffle prizes, several awards brought tears to the eyes of many in attendance.
   

The 2006 Firefighter of the Year Award was given to firefighter Randy Peacock.
   

The 2006 EMT of the Year Award was given to Company Officer Shonda Cohen.
   

The 2007 Firefighter of the Year Award was given to firefighter Shannone Rivera.
   

The 2007 EMT of the Year Award was given to firefighter Julie Fill.
   

The Fire Chief Award of Excellence was given to Capt. Steve Spann and Lt. Nichole Peters.
    The first Medal of Valor in the history of the department was given to Company Officer Shonda Cohen for her performance offering assistance in a January 2007 wreck that totaled one of Moriarty's ambulances.
    The ambulance was called to the scene of a rollover accident on I-40 and, while it was parked on the side of the highway, a tractor-trailer jackknifed and hit the vehicle.
    "It changed my life completely being on the other side" of an accident, Cohen said.
    Although the three emergency medical technicians in the vehicle were all injured, none of their injuries was serious. The accident occurred during snowy and icy road conditions.