Best And Bravest: Orange County Fire Authority Congratulates Nominees

LAKE FOREST, CA — The Orange County Fire Authority will be celebrating the accomplishments and actions of its firefighters and professional staff members during the annual Best and Bravest Awards Ceremony.

After receiving nominations from each battalion and section, the top firefighter, reserve firefighter, professional staff, Manager of the Year, and Unsung Hero will be announced on the evening of the ceremony. Our nominees are listed below:

Firefighter of the Year:

• Battalion 1 – Dominic Cacioppo
• Battalion 2 – Ryan Higgins
• Battalion 3 – Tom Hobbs
• Battalion 4 – Scott Ashbach
• Battalion 5 – Rick Van Auken
• Battalion 6 – Brian Abney
• Battalion 7 – Robby Bosanko
• Battalion 8 – Reid Gibson
• Battalion 9 – Albert Morales
• RFOTC – Chuck Fedak

Fire Explorer of the Year:

• Battalion 2 – Shelby Perkins
• Battalion 7 – Mitchell Watrous
• Battalion 8 – Zach Wesson
• Battalion 9 – Jack Arendt

Reserve Firefighter of the Year:

• Battalion 3 – Pat Antrim
• Battalion 5 – Jacob Good-Fernandez
• Battalion 7 – Eddie Barrera
• Battalion 8 – Keith Huff

Professional Staff of the Year:

• Business Services – Rothchild Ong
• Community Risk Reduction – Carol Lancaster
• Operations/CAPA – Polly Bowen
• Support Services – Mark Edmond
• Org Planning / Training & Safety – Tara Miali

Manager of the Year:

• Operations – Robert Acosta
• Business Services – Stuart Lam
• Community Risk Reduction – Jennifer Bower
• Human Resources – Rhonda Haynes
• Support Services – Patrick Bauer

Unsung Hero:

• Fire Apparatus Engineer Development Cadre
• Duty Manpower Coordinators

Medal of Courage:

• Matthew Levesque
• Jake Gilbert
• Colin Crowley
• Aaron Creager

Life Saving Medal:

• Darrin Trudeau

The dinner and presentations will take place at the Irvine Marriott on February 17, 2017 at 6 p.m.

Congratulations, Nominees!

Amy Spurgeon Hoffman, photo