Franklin Fire Department Celebrates 2020 Award Winners

Press release from the City of Franklin:

May 7, 2021

Franklin, TN – The Franklin Fire Department has announced its 2020 award winners. Following is a complete list of honorees, which may also be viewed HERE.

2020 Personnel of the Year

• Rookie of the Year: Firefighter Suzannah Ponzio
• Firefighter of the Year: Firefighter Brandi Holland
• Engineer of the Year: Engineer Wylie Jones
• Fire Officer of the Year: Lieutenant-Paramedic Brian Brandon
• Fire Administration Staff Member of the Year: Training Captain Greg Wild

Exemplary Service and Achievement Awards

In 2020, two Franklin Firefighters accepted voluntary COVID-19-related reassignments. They are being honored for their contributions:

Exemplary Service Award – Firefighter-Paramedic Gino Fantoni

In March of 2020, Firefighter-Paramedic Gino Fantoni stepped in to fill the emergency management function for the City of Franklin. He has been instrumental in helping to manage the city’s pandemic response.

Achievement Award – Engineer Jeremiah Rogers

In October of 2020, Engineer Jeremiah Rogers was tasked with the role of utilizing his video production and editing skills to create high-quality training films, which enabled personnel to meet their annual state in-service training requirements.

Phoenix Awards

March 17, 2020 – These firefighters helped to save the life of a three-year-old child experiencing complete airway obstruction:

• Captain David Currie
• Lieutenant-Paramedic Dustin Anderson
• Engineer Dennis Nealy
• Firefighter Joshua Fuson
• Firefighter Alex Shriner
• Firefighter-Paramedic Daniel White

July 1, 2020 – These firefighters helped to save the life of a seven-week-old infant experiencing respiratory arrest:

• Lieutenant David Metcalf
• Engineer Kyle Garner
• Firefighter-Paramedic Kirk White

Deployment Awards

These firefighters were deployed as members of Tennessee Task Force 2, a Type III Urban Search and Rescue response team with a Water Rescue Mission Ready Package, to assist with the following incidents:

Lt. Jonathan Gill, Structural Collapse Technician

• Hurricane Laura (Louisiana) – August 2020
• Hurricane Delta (Louisiana) – October 2020

Engineer Todd Wilson, Structural Collapse Technician

• Hurricane Laura (Louisiana) – August 2020
• Hurricane Sally (Louisiana and Florida) – September 2020
• Hurricane Delta (Louisiana) – October 2020

Firefighter Rob Thomas, Structural Collapse Specialist

• Hurricane Laura (Louisiana) – August 2020
• Hurricane Sally (Louisiana and Florida) – September 2020
• Hurricane Delta (Louisiana) – October 2020

State deployment requests are a function of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a mutual-aid agreement among states and U.S. territories, which enables them to share resources during natural and man-made disasters.

Recognition of Promotions:

The following personnel have been promoted over the past several months and unable to be recognized during traditional badge pinning ceremonies due to COVID-19:

• Fire Chief Glenn Johnson
• Assistant Fire Chief Greg Baltimore, Operations
• Battalion Chief Tyler Crews, B-shift
• Battalion Chief Jonathan Jenkins, A-shift
• Battalion Chief Ben Marler, Administration
• Battalion Chief Michael Pardue, Training
• Captain Kyle Bess
• Captain-Paramedic Michael Henderson
• Captain Matthew Stout
• Lieutenant-Paramedic Dustin Anderson
• Lieutenant Jeff Boggs
• Lieutenant-Paramedic Stephen Denny
• Lieutenant-Paramedic Seth Frost
• Lieutenant-Paramedic James Gambill
• Lieutenant Richard Hasley
• Lieutenant-Paramedic Aaron Sherwood
• Engineer Daniel Burke
• Engineer-Paramedic Joseph Burwell
• Engineer Chris Daniel
• Engineer-Paramedic Alex Enochs
• Engineer-Paramedic Blake Lobel
• Engineer Kyle McMahon
• Engineer Keith McVoy
• Engineer Dennis Nealy

The FFD Awards Committee is Assistant Fire Chief Greg Baltimore, Battalion Chief Joe Polenzani, Captain Tom Chaffin, Lieutenant Charlene Forehand, Engineer Rick Havrilla, Firefighter Geoff Manfre, Assistant Fire Marshal Jonathan Dye, Fire and Life Safety Educator Jamie Melton, and Administrative Assistant Marlena DeSantis.

Pictured – Top photo: Top – Fire Chief Glenn Johnson, Engineer Wylie Jones, Asst. Fire Chief Greg Baltimore; Bottom left – Firefighter Brandi Holland; Bottom right – Firefighter Suzannah Ponzio. Middle photo: Top – Lt.-Paramedic Brian Brandon; Bottom – Training Captain Greg Wild. Bottom photo: Top – Engineer Jeremiah Rogers; Bottom – Firefighter-Paramedic Gino Fantoni, Deputy Chief Andy King (far right).

This press release was produced by the City of Franklin. The views expressed here are the author’s own.