Polson Rural Fire District honors volunteers at banquet
Vernor Rose was presented the Polson Rural Fire District’s Firefighter of the Year award as determined by the voting of the firefighters.
In the first Polson Rural District firefighter recognition banquet last Saturday night, Fire Chief Paul Laisy gave high praise and gratitude for the rural firefighters and the many hours of volunteer time they put in to the department and district. In 2016, the first full year in operation after the separation from the City, the department responded to 223 calls and averaged 15 volunteers per call.
Awards highlighted the evening as members were recognized for their years of service and citation bars were given to some members for special accomplishments. The volunteer with the most training hours went to Mike Hingis, who put in 149 hours. The top five responders in number of runs were; Drew Hoel (170), Jack Clapp (144), Will Woodger (140), Mike Hingis (120) and Matt Daughtery (112). Mike Hingis and John Thorsted shared the Rookie of the Year award and Verner Rose was presented the Firefighter of the Year award as determined by the voting of the firefighters. Finally, Drew Hoel was awarded the coveted Fire Chief’s award for his overall contributions to the department and fire district during the year.
The evening concluded by honoring retired Polson Rural Fire Chief, John Fairchild, with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding service to the community. Fairchild was involved in the Rural department 28 years, first as a firefighter then as the Fire Chief from 2007 to 2015. His leadership through the transition in 2015 when Rural separated from the City was instrumental in setting the Rural District up for the successful department it is today.