NEW: RI Fire Chief Named Tops in US
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
It's official. We've got one of the finest fire chiefs in the United States.
Fire Chief Magazine recently announced the 2011 winners of the annual “Fire Chief of the Year” awards, and the 2011 Volunteer Fire Chief of the year is Chief Robert Perry of the Union Fire Protection District in Peace Dale.
Winners are honored for their dedication and leadership in the fire and emergency services. The 16th annual awards will be presented during the opening session of the 2011 International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Fire-Rescue International Exhibits and Conference in Atlanta, GA, this Friday, August 26th.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“We are very pleased with the selection of this year’s winners,” said Janet Wilmoth, Editorial Director, Fire Chief Publications. “The commitment and dedication of ... Chief Perry represents the hard-work and challenges facing today’s fire and emergency leadership. Our judges had a difficult time with many excellent nominations this year.”
Perry: A lifetime of service
Chief Robert Perry has been a volunteer firefighter for more than 40 years. He has served as the chief at the 300-member Union Fire District since 2004, and was a deputy chief for training and development for 16 years
before being named chief. Intensely devoted to firefighter safety and training, Chief Perry is widely known for changing the paradigm to “Safety Always” in fire departments throughout the state of Rhode Island. During his tenure, he has built a culture that cultivates firefighting skills among all walks of the service. For training purposes, he spearheaded efforts to build – among other multiple props – a tower and a Class A live burn building.
Perry has been an instructor for the Rhode Island Fire Academy since 1988 and for the past 36 years has been an active member of the South Kingston Firefighters Joint Training Committee. Beginning in 1973 and continuing through 2009, Perry held several crash-rescue positions at TF Green International Airport in Warwick, R.I., including officer, lieutenant and captain. Perry served as an assistant deputy state fire marshal, served on the Rhode Island Central League Training Committee and held the position of assistant instructor at the Rhode Island Fire Academy.
Perry holds an Associates’ Degree in Fire Science from the Community College of Rhode Island, and has completed coursework and received numerous certificates for a wide range of specialized training, including: incident command, incident management, hazardous materials, rope rescue, collapsed building, explosives, extrication, confined space and more. Philip Stittleburg, Chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council, said, “Chief Perry is a recognized leader who is progressive, believes in collaboration, and through cooperative understanding has built strong bridges between the volunteer and career firefighters in the state of Rhode Island.”
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