Return to Pointer View home page June 4, 2004

Point firefighter wins award

Story and photo by Kathy Eastwood
Staff Writer

The Northeastern Regional Office of Fire and Emergency Services announced recently it has selected West Point firefighter and training officer, Chris Reed, as Fire Officer of the Year. This is the first award for the fire department and FES will present it to the NERO winners in August during a ceremony in New Orleans, La.

“NERO looks at the nominations for specific criteria,” said Curt Krieger, West Point’s Fire Chief. “We have all good caliber people here, but Chris consistently outperforms the others in his peer group.”

Nominations must specify why the person deserves the award, Krieger said. That’s something he had no problem with when submitting a nomination for Reed.

“Chris is always willing to go above and beyond the call of duty, he’s never driven by the clock and is the hardest working fire officer in our department,” he said.

Reed said he always wanted to be a firefighter and, despite the long hours, wouldn’t change anything about his career choice.

“I am doing exactly what I want to do and I have been a firefighter for more than 20 years,” he said. “I work 60 hours a week and spend one night a week here.”

Reed’s accomplishments on the job more than exceed the criteria for the award, Krieger explained.

“He developed all the training criteria, certification procedures and operating instructions for automatic external defibrillating units,” he explained. “He restructured and retooled the department’s drivers’ training and certification process and voluntarily helps train the USMA Cadet Scuba Team.”

Reed said he believes others in the department are just as -- or more -- deserving than he is.

“An officer is only as good as the motivation of the people below him,” he said.

The names of all NERO winners have been forwarded to the Information Management Agency headquarters for consideration as nominees for Department of the Army-level fire and emergency awards.