Odenton Volunteer Firefighter Receives State Award

ODENTON, MD -- Volunteer firefighter Christopher J. Banach has received the John E. "Sunny" Rose, Jr. Memorial Training Award for the most hours of emergency services training completed in the state in 2018. The award was presented at the Maryland State Firemen's Association convention.

Banach joined the Odenton Volunteer Fire Company in September 2017 and because he already was certified as a firefighter, he immediately began participating in an extensive training program to become an emergency medical technician. He then completed the training required to drive the ambulance. During 2018, Banach completed 189 hours of certified training to become an EMT (165 hours) and an emergency vehicle operator (24 hours).

Meanwhile, Banach still logged 286 fire and ambulance calls for 2018. He also was elected to the board of directors and recently received the Firefighter of the Year Award from the local chamber of commerce.