Ridgefield Fire Department Honors Exceptional Members

 The Ridgefield Fire Department held their Bi-Annual Awards and Swearing-In ceremony at The Ridgefield Playhouse on Wed., January 18, 2023. The ceremony, which has not been held for almost three years due to Covid, honored several members of both the Ridgefield Professional Fire Department along with volunteer members of the Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department.

The honorees were recognized for their exceptional actions resulting in lives saved including Firefighter/EMTs, Firefighter/Paramedics, Dispatchers, Volunteer Members as well as two citizens whose actions went above and beyond.

Newly hired members of the Ridgefield Professional Fire Department were sworn in by Town Clerk Wendy Lionetti and badges were “pinned” by a special member of their family.

Firefighter of the Year Awards were given for both 2021 and 2022 to Fire Paramedic/EMS Coordinator Michael Trenck, Firefighter/EMT Ken Brown, Volunteer Firefighter Michael McManus and Fire Police Capt. Walter Weiland 

The Awards ceremony was held in collaboration with The Ridgefield Playhouse in the theater as well as the newly renovated event space. Many members of the community attended including members of the Board of Selectmen, retired fire officials from the Ridgefield Fire Department as well as family members of those being honored and inducted.

“It was wonderful to finally host this community building event and honor the actions of some of our highly dedicated FireFighters after a hiatus due to Covid,” said Chief Jerry Myers of the Ridgefield Fire Department. “The Ridgefield Playhouse was the perfect location and gave us the space to host a nice reception after the Ceremony.”

Other awards presented included the Exceptional Duty Award, the Star of Life Award, the Credible Dispatch Award, the Award of Merit, the Education Award, the Civilian Award of Merit as well as several Unit Citations.

For more information on the Ridgefield Professional Fire Department, please go to www.local1739.org. For the Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department, please visit www.ridgefieldvfd.com.

To learn more about The Ridgefield Playhouse and your next event, please visit www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org.