Commander Navy Region Southeast Names 2022 Firefighter and Fire Officer of the Year
by: Lt.j.g. Camila Healey, NAS Whiting Field Public Affairs Office
MILTON, Fla. – Commander, Navy Region Southeast (CNRSE) Rear Adm. Wesley McCall, and Naval Air Station Whiting Field recently congratulated the winners of the 2022 Fire and Emergency Services award competition. In addition to naming the region firefighter and fire officer of the year, the admiral recognized Gulf Coast Fire and Emergency Services, consolidated NAS Pensacola and NAS Whiting Field, as Fire Department of the Year, Large Category.
Navy Region Southeast Military Fire Officer for 2022 is Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (ABH) 1st Class Neil Ferrer and Navy Region Southeast Military Firefighter of the Year is Aviation Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class James Totten.
“Bravo Zulu and congratulations to all our deserving winners in this year’s program,” McCall said. “I would like to extend my gratitude for your tremendous commitment to the protection of life, property and the environment,” he said in an email announcement. Navy Region Southeast is based at NAS Jacksonville, Fla.
Ferrer, NRSE Military Fire Officer of the Year, is from San Francisco, California. He is the Fire and Emergency Services Division III leading petty officer (LPO). As a fire officer, Ferrer is directly responsible for firefighter teams, stations, and equipment contributing to the ABH mission of aircraft firefighting.
Ferrer managed 80 plus Sailors in all facets of firefighting and rescue procedures across 10 Naval Outlying Landing Fields (NOLFs). He is a qualified Fire Captain, as well as fully certified in Airport Rescue Fire Fighting Driver/Operator, Fire Instructor I, Fire Officer I, and Emergency Medical Responder (EMR). He devoted more than 1,600 hours of firefighting and rescue procedures training, as well as 528 live fire and 176 drill scenarios. He also played a vital role in certifying 21 ARFF Driver/Operators, 13 Fire Instructors Level I, 13 Fire Officer I’s, and 3 EMR’s which allowed TRAWING FIVE to execute 1 million annual flight evolutions while qualifying more than 500 aviators. In addition to these accomplishments, Ferrer was recognized as NAS Whiting Field’s Senior Sailor of the Year for 2022.
Totten, NSRE Military Firefighter of the Year, hails from Middleton, California. He is regarded as an enthusiastic firefighter who takes initiative in assisting and training others in firefighting and rescue procedures. Totten effectively responded to two in flight emergencies, successfully preventing loss of life. He is fully qualified to operate numerous firefighting apparatus including Twin Agent Unit (TAU), Rapid Intervention Vehicle (RIV), and the Oshkosh T-1500. Additionally, he volunteered more than140 off duty hours with the Bagdad Volunteer Fire Station, and assisted in 11 medical emergencies.
Daniel Chiappetta, Fire Chief of Fire and Emergency Services Gulf Coast, is the supervisor for the two award recipients. He commented “I can’t say enough about the outstanding accomplishments of both Military Fire Officer of the Year, ABH1 Neil Ferrer, and Military Firefighter of the Year, ABH3 James Totten. They have made our organization extremely proud through their hard work and dedication to both the U.S. Navy and Fire and Emergency Services Gulf Coast.”
Chiappetta continued, “Our men and women work diligently throughout the year to provide exceptional service to our patrons both on and off the installations. This is just another example of how our personnel step up to the challenge and exceed our expectations. These individuals demonstrate their exemplary character through their commitment to the department and selfless service to all. This award is a great honor for them, and I am very proud of their efforts to not only win these awards but help make our department great.”
Ferrer and Totten are both critical assets to the NAS Whiting Field team and the aviation training mission. The award and recognition highlight their hard work and dedication in their careers and to the Navy.
Naval Air Station Whiting Field, home of Training Air Wing Five, is the backbone of Naval Aviation Training, supporting approximately 60 percent of all primary fixed-wing flight training and 100 percent of all initial helicopter training for the Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Corps. NAS Whiting Field is the busiest aviation complex in the world with more than one million flight operations flown at the installation annually. It is comprised of two main airfields and 12 Navy Outlying Landing Fields across four counties in Southeast Alabama and Northwest Florida. Training Air Wing Five flies an estimated 43 percent of the Chief of Naval Air Training Command's total flight time and 17 percent of Navy and Marine Corps' flight time worldwide. More than 1,200 personnel receive their essential flight training through TRAWING Five annually.
| Date Taken: | 03.13.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.14.2023 10:38 |
| Story ID: | 440328 |
| Location: | MILTON, FL, US |
| Hometown: | MIDDLETON, CA, US |
| Hometown: | SAN FRANCISCO, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 101 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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