The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK) company, announced the 2015 winners of the annual “Fire Chief of the Year” awards at Fire-Rescue International (FRI), the annual conference of the IAFC. Volunteer Fire Chief, Dr. Charles Addington II, of Wolfforth Fire & EMS in Wolfforth, Texas and career Fire Chief, Dan Eggleston, of the Albemarle County Department of Fire Rescue in Charlottesville, Virginia are this year’s recipients.
Winners (selected by a committee appointed by the IAFC) are honored for their dedication and leadership in fire and emergency services. Sponsored by Pierce, the 20th annual awards were presented during FRI’s general session at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center.
“With these awards, we recognize the accomplishments and leadership of Chief Dan Eggleston and Chief Charles Addington, as well as their contributions to their departments and communities and the fire service,” said Jim Johnson, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president of the Fire & Emergency segment and Pierce Manufacturing. “Pierce is honored to again participate in this important event; we are happy to join with the fire service to pay tribute to these remarkable leaders.”
Career Fire Chief Honoree – Dan Eggleston of the Albemarle County Department of Fire Rescue in Charlottesville, Virginia
Chief Dan Eggleston exemplifies the consummate fire service professional committed to excellence. His leadership and service with the Albemarle County Department of Fire Rescue can best be described as the ongoing exploration and implementation of best practices. He has contributed to the fire service in myriad ways – including teaching and publishing – at the local, regional, national and international level. His service has demonstrated a dedication to other fire service professionals as well as to the recruitment of a new generation of such professionals. For the last 13 years, Eggleston has served as Fire Rescue Chief – overseeing 14 fire rescue stations and 750 career and volunteer personnel of this combination department – for the historic Virginia County of Albemarle. Under Chief Eggleston’s leadership, a collective of volunteer and combination departments have been unified into a high performing combination career/volunteer fire rescue system that provides cost-effective comprehensive public safety services to the county’s diverse population of approximately 100,000 residents in an area of 726 square miles. Automatic and mutual aide agreements with surrounding jurisdictions, state/federal agencies, and private partners have been established under the Chief’s direction, as have career and professional development initiatives. Chief Eggleston’s work as a board member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, since 2013, and as a board member of its Volunteer & Combination Officers Section (VCOS), since 2007, illustrates his comprehensive contribution to the fire service. Just one example of that work is Chief Eggleston’s facilitation of the Firefighter Cancer Support Network summit that resulted in the 2013 publication of “Taking Action Against Cancer in the Fire Service”, a white paper dedicated to reducing the incidence of cancer in firefighters. Chief Eggleston’s 37-year tenure with the fire service in Virginia includes his service as Fire Chief/Emergency Manager for the City of Franklin and, before that, his service with the Chesterfield Fire Department where he began his fire service career as a firefighter in 1978.
Volunteer Fire Chief Honoree – Dr. Charles Addington II of Wolfforth Fire & EMS in Wolfforth, Texas
The accomplishments of Chief Charles Addington II reflect a truly unique individual whose career is epitomized by excellence and a drive to serve his community, region, and state as a fire chief, physician, medical director, mayor, teacher and businessman. He joined Wolfforth Fire and EMS in 1996. He is currently in his 20th year with the department and 15th as its fire chief. The Wolfforth Fire Department was established in 1954 and provides fire and rescue services to the City of Wolfforth – with a population of about 3,670 (at the 2010 census) and a 3.1 square mile area – as well as an 88 square mile area in Southwest Lubbock County. The fire department currently consists of 28 dedicated volunteers. In 2004, the all-volunteer Wolfforth Volunteer Emergency Medical Service that had been established in 1977 was incorporated with the Wolfforth Volunteer Fire Department; it became a paid, full-time service in October 2006. Also Dr. Addington was named its Firefighter of the Year in 2001. He is the Chief of the Wolfforth Fire Academy, which trains sixty plus students each year using the curriculum of the Texas Commission on Fire Protection. Chief Addington is a member of the Texas Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the Texas State Firefighters’ and Fire Marshals’ Association – EMS Advisory Board as well as numerous other professional medical organizations. In 2012, Chief Addington completed the four-year National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program in two and one-half years. He has also completed the Texas A&M Fire Service Chief Executive Officer course. Addington is a doctor with a medical practice in Wolfforth. He is also a licensed paramedic, the chief of a regional HAZMAT team, the Medical Director for: South Plains EMS (30 counties); Lubbock Fire Department; the emergency room at Lubbock Heart Hospital; Lubbock County STAR Team (Special Tactics & Rescue); and the Lubbock Police Department SWAT Team. He also serves as medical director for 1800 students and 600 guest instructors for the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Services Annual School Program. The Chief previously served on the Wolfforth City Council and currently serves as its mayor. He is also the president and owner of Addington Buffalo Company, LLC. Chief Addington is a true leader for the community of Wolfforth.
