Be Ready for Terror Strike
Working relationships between the men and women who enforce the law and those who respond to fires and medical emergencies were highlighted at this year's LOW Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company recognition banquet. The featured speaker, Fairfax County Police Chief David Rohrer, said the terrorism threat has made cooperation more important than ever.
Noting that he has almost daily contact with his populous county's fire chief, Rohrer reminded his listeners that their area, while not as near to Washington as Fairfax, is not very far away. He said firefighters and ambulance crews here must be prepared to respond, if a new terror strike takes place.
In addition to close working relationships with fire and medical emergency responders, Rohrer has a close personal relationship with one of them. His father-in-law is Joe Argenzio, who was sworn in at the banquet as LOW Fire & Rescue president.
Orange County Administrator Bill Rolfe also swore in the other members of a new board of directors: Charlie Bocook, vice president; Bob Halstead, secretary; Bernie Arnold, treasurer; Ricky Lancing, fire chief; Lee Frame, Rescue Squad captain; and Vic Larson, Bruce Willets, and Joanne Williams, members at large.
Installed as well were Billy Willingham and Eddie Seale as assistant fire chiefs; other Fire Department officers, including Willets, Greg Leitz, Aaron Lovell, and Dick Ferguson; Sparky Watson as assistant rescue captain; and other Rescue Squad officers, including Halstead, Frank Brauch, Mark Ford, Kay Arnold, Peter Fertig, and Barbara Larson.
Brauch was named Rescue Squad rookie of the year; Watson, the squad's outgoing captain, was named squadperson of the year; and Frame won a squad captain's award. Willets was named Fire Department officer of the year; Gaston Smith, rookie of the year; and Tom Cornell, firefighter of the year.
Certificates of appreciation went to Roger Jarrell, a builder who has done Fire & Rescue notable good turns; Janet Yeager, who chairs the F&R-sponsored Independence Day festival; Wyatt Gosnell, who produces the LOW Directory for F&R; and Millie Droste, outgoing F&R bingo chairman. Droste presented a $6,000 check—bingo proceeds for the past year. Ladies Workshop members presented a mock check representing $4,300.
Tim Bettendorf, Donna Brown, and Kay and Bernie Arnold were named F&R life members, for 10 years of service. Pat Ivey was honored for 25 years of service.
And there was a special tribute to another pillar of the Rescue Squad, Joe Broderick, who joined in 1984 but has been unable to serve for two years and is now gravely ill. Watson said Broderick is known throughout "the rescue community'' in this area and has selflessly "given the squad thousands of hours.'' Broderick had hoped to be present but was too ill.
[Note: Joe Broderick died two weeks after the above article appeared.]