The last Sunday in September is traditionally the Somers Fire District Inspection. During our inspection we also hold an awards ceremony to honor our members for their achievements in the previous year. This year, due to the pandemic, we were unable to hold an inspection dinner. None the less, we still gave out awards for the year 2019. This was done in smaller groups recently and we wanted to take a minute to publicly recognize our members for the excellent work they do everyday. Some of the awards and recipients include:

1. Chief's Award- Charles Faulkner

Charlie is the engineer of ladder 48 and a long time member of the SVFD. He is dependable and knows his job inside and out. As engineer, he does a fantastic job of ensuring that his assigned apparatus is ready to go 24/7. He puts a lot of time and effort into the SVFD and is always there to assist and take charge when something needs to be done. He truly exemplifies what being a hard working member of the SVFD is all about and is the perfect member.

2. Fire Member of the Year- Shannon Mackey

Shannon has been a member of the SVFD for 3 years. She started as a mutual aid member from the Putnam Valley Fire Department where she was a member for 8 years, and soon found her home here at the SVFD. Since joining Shannon has been an instrumental part in helping shape our members under the age of 18 program and has been a mentor for all new members of the SVFD. Shannon is a capable and dedicated interior firefighter and knows her job well. Since joining the SVFD she has also taken the lead as President of Lincolndale Firehouse. Shannon is always a go to person here at the SVFD both on and off the fire ground. Shannon truly symbolizes the role as an unelected leader of the SVFD.

3. EMS Member of the Year- Jacob Leff

Jacob has been a member of the SVFD for 4 years. Jacob is a firefighter/EMT after obtaining both his firefighter 1 training and EMT certification. Jacob, when not attending school, dedicates all of his free time to the SVFD and is regularly on our ambulances or in a fire truck. He is always the first to step up for special details and anytime an ambulance is needed somewhere. He is an excellent EMT and truly a role model when it comes to his patient care. He is smart, compassionate, and a hard worker.

4. Most Improved Member- Frank Ritacco

Frank Ritacco or FFR as he likes to be called, like all of our members is very important. Frank is truly a student of the fire service and gives 100% day in and day out to make himself a better firefighter. He is at every drill and training and is always ready and willing to learn. Frank's dedication to the SVFD and to making the Somers Community safer does not go un-noticed.

5. Top Responder- Lieutenant Curt Benge

Lieutenant Benge has been with the SVFD for 9 years. Since day 1 he has become an integral part of the department. Most importantly he responds to A LOT of calls. Whether its 10am on a Tuesday or 2:30am on a Saturday night chances are Curt will be there to respond to your emergency. Curt has responded to hundreds if not thousands of emergency calls during his time with the SVFD and has been there to help so many residents and visitors to our town.

Also presented was a gift of appreciation from the Chief's office to Ex-Chief Paul Jockimo for all that he has done for the department during his tenure as Chief.

The following members are also recognized for going above and beyond responding to alarms in 2019:

100-199 Alarms:

103. Nicholas Latella
106. Steven Sterman
115. Alexa Barlow
125. Charles Faulkner
127. Walter McDonald
139. Clint Loretta- Catucci
147. Captain Robert Dugan
151. Bridget Foley
157. Nikolas Aguilar
157. John FitzGerald
159. Alexander Donato
166. Steven Jarrett
174. Douglas Crockatt
178. Shannon Mackey
188. Evan Kader
193. Chief Paul Jockimo

200-299 Alarms:

202. Michael Goldberg
209. Laurent Verard
214. Jacob Leff
215. William Sheehan
220. Don Spinelli
226. Brian Lieberman
233. Assistant Chief Ray Carile
237. Captain John Meeker
255. Frank Ritacco
270. Chris Lieberman
293. Brian Fleming

300+ Alarms:

313. Captain Greg Lucia
323. Rocco Latella
357. Assistant Chief Jon Mackey
437. Lieutenant Brendan Porteus
536. Lieutenant Curt Benge