Gwinnett Fire Personnel Honored

The Georgia Department of Emergency Services (GDES), Region Three recently honored Gwinnett Fire and Emergency Services (GCFES) medical director Dr. Earl Grubbs as the 2012 Medical Director of the Year. Eighty-two Gwinnett firefighters and paramedics were also honored for “exemplary service” according to GCFES public information officer Capt. Eric Eberly.

Grubbs, who has worked with the department since 2002, is credited with improving GCFES’ pre-hospital medical care, methods and service quality.

“Dr. Grubbs’ guidance is one of the reasons our staff won so many awards this year,” said GCFES Fire Chief Bill Myers in a released statement. “He has a wealth of knowledge and shares it readily with all our EMTs and Paramedics. He’s a true professional, and it’s a great honor to work with him.”

Individual honors were awarded to Gwinnett firefighters/EMTs and paramedics for saving 14 lives in 2011.

GCFES also announced that Firefighter/Paramedic Driver Engineer Marne Richards was recently named the Gwinnett Rotary Club’s 2012 Firefighter of the Year in a separate ceremony. Richards, a 6-year veteran, is currently assigned to the Gwinnett Fire Academy.

 “Marne is the perfect choice for this award. On top of being an excellent firefighter, she is an outstanding person who approaches everything with a can-do attitude,” Myers said.