Three Richmond Hill firefighters were honored Monday for their excellent service this year.
Ernest “Chuck” Altvater was selected as the Volunteer Firefighter of the Year, William “Dave” Williams was recognized as the Career Firefighter of the Year and Capt. Thomas “Andy” Burriss was presented with the Fire Chief’s Award, according to a press release from the Richmond Hill Fire Department.
“This year’s awardees contributed to another successful year where the department saw a 5 percent increase in call volume without a safety incident,” said Richmond Hill Fire Chief Vernon Rushing. “The determination and hard work of these and all of our firefighters was put on display at the recent Denny’s fire.”
Alvater joined the department in 2009. Williams was a volunteer with the department for several years before he was hired as a career firefighter in 2009. And Burriss is the department’s fire inspector and training officer. He was hired in 2006 and was moved to the fire prevention office two years later.
Rank-and-file firefighters choose by secret ballot the award recipients for the Career and Volunteer Firefighter of the Year awards. Rushing chose the recipient of the Chief’s Award based on excellent performance during the year.
The awards ceremony was held Dec. 20 during the Richmond Hill Fire Department’s annual Christmas dinner at the John Stevens Wetlands Education Center in J.F. Gregory Park.