He was recognized and presented with the award at the February 3^rd annual party.

A number of years ago the Quincy Fire Department changed the process that is utilized to select the Firefighter of the Year.  Now, to even be considered for the recognition, recipients must have been nominated sometime in the year for the Employee of the Month or Crew of the Month recognition.  This year, the following individuals were among the nominees:

     Michael Stapleton, Demond Dade, Shawn Henson, Rich Peters, Steve Peters, Cole Miller, Chris Bichsel, Mark Bichsel,
     Matt Hinkamper, Corey Goehl, Chad Hummel, Trent Wort, Scott Lucey, Mike Lantz, Eric Smith, Ryan Kamphaus,
     Paul Mason and Jerry Smith

Some of the reasons behind this year’s nominations included an individual who was in another state and assisted a volunteer department in dealing with a medical emergency, an individual who has gone above and beyond in his work as a service officer for the department, an individual who has slowly been working to revive the Christmas traditions of old at Central Station and many instances of employees who have demonstrated exceptional professionalism in their work on emergency scenes and in their work with other agencies.  It should be noted that while not everyone can be recognized as the Firefighter of the Year, each of these individuals have in their own way contributed to making the Quincy Fire Department the best it can possibly be.

In our discussions, the selection team had to work to narrow this field of nominees down to the eventual recipient.  The decision was a difficult one, yet it was one that was arrived at in a fairly quick fashion.  This year’s recipient is everything that this department looks for in a model employee.  He is a hard worker, he is technically proficient, he is respectful and has earned the respect of his peers and most of all, he cares for the job and the citizens he serves.  In the almost 18 years that this individual has been on the job he has been recognized as Employee of the Month on three different occasions, Crew Member of the Month once, and as the 2009 Quincy Fire Department Leadership Award recipient.  He is the leader of our Hazardous Materials Team and has worked extensively with the Technical Rescue Team as well.  He serves as a CPR Instructor, he is a shift training coordinator and he is always seen volunteering to support both Union and Department events.  It is my pleasure to introduce the 2016 Quincy Fire Department Firefighter of the Year – Lieutenant Chris Bichsel.