We will start today with props going out to Company 3 for the great meal they prepared for our "Experienced Firefighters" dinner last Monday evening. A steak tip and chicken dinner with the fixins was served to over 50 members prior to the presentation of Fire Service Awards by Chief Weston. We had three members reach significant milestones this year - former Captain, Mike Nye, was presented with his 45-year pin, former Captain, Matt Sears, was presented with his 25-year pin, and former Lieutenant, Austin White, was presented with his 20-year pin. Congratulations, and we thank them for their years of dedicated service to our department.   There were two additional presentations on Monday night that were pretty special. The first was to the Family of our late Fire Chaplain, Robert Merritt. Bob's wife Peg, and their daughter, Judy, were presented with a plaque to honor Reverend Merritt and his spiritual leadership, guidance, and friendship to the members of CFD over his 33 years of service. In the Chiefs' words, "Bob is irreplaceable." We miss you Bob! The beautiful plaque is now on display in Bob's office area at Station One.   The second is a huge milestone for Chief Weston, as this month marks his 20-year anniversary as the Carver Fire Chief. It is crazy to think of how quickly 20 years have gone by... Chief Weston was presented with a plaque from the Carver Firefighters' Association in appreciation of his 20 years as Chief, with his family in attendance. When you sit back and reflect on the last 20 years, you become overwhelmed really quickly when thinking of the progress and accomplishments that we have achieved under Chief Weston's leadership. I feel extremely fortunate and thankful to work for such a great leader and friend, as I am sure our entire membership feels the same. Chief, congratulations on your 20-year anniversary, and thank you for all that you have done and continue to do for us and our community!

Big thank you Fire Safety Officer Lauzon for putting on an informative Fire Apparatus Driving Drill both this past Saturday and Sunday.  Numerous Firefighters attended the two-day driving exercise. Firefighters started with a classroom presentation, which included a very informative and to-the-point PowerPoint training lecture addressing DOT standards, POV vehicle responses, and firefighter safety.   A six-station practical driving course was set up to simulate various fire apparatus driving scenarios.  Firefighters practiced serpentine driving, multipoint turns, apparatus backing, and diminishing lane clearance. This year, a new station was set up, familiarizing all our Firefighters with our new UTV.   One of the stations was an electric vehicle station.  Firefighters got a chance to see firsthand where the batteries and inverters were placed in the vehicle, what can be touched or cut if needed during an extrication and learn the precautions that need to be taken when working around these vehicles.  Great drill with a lot learned  (Photo’s by Firefighter, Steve Falconer)