Long Beach fire engineer Paul Meiers, left, poses with Chief Michael Duree after receiving the award of Firefighter of the Year. Photos by Brittany Woolsey
For Paul Meiers, being the Long Beach Firefighter of the Year is a family affair.
Meiers, who has been with the department for 20 years and currently works as a fire engineer, was given the title, following in the footsteps of his father who was awarded the title in 1993. This is a first in the long history of the Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD).
“This is very humbling to receive this award,” he said. “I want to thank my wife for her countless hours of support, and also make reference to my parents. There are three things I’ve always wanted. Number one, since I was five-years-old, I wanted to be a Long Beach fireman just like my dad. Once I got in the department, I wanted to follow in his footsteps and become an engineer, and I did that. The third, which is the most humbling and honoring for me, is for me to be Firefighter of the Year, like my dad. We’re the first father and son who have each been Firefighter of the Year. That is a huge honor for me.”
Meiers was given the distinction at the LBFD Badge Ceremony on Thursday morning at the fire headquarters, where another LBFD employee was recognized as Employee of the Year, and 16 personnel were given badges and promotions.
Joanne Dolan, who started with the department 17 years ago, was awarded Civilian Employee of the Year for her work in Emergency Medical Services Education.
The past year was extremely difficult, Dolan said, noting the complications and criticisms with rolling out the LBFD’s controversial Rapid Medical Deployment (RMD) program, which was first used by the fire department on July 10 and moves from the use of two paramedics per fire engine to one. LBFD Chief Michael Duree said in an interview with the Long Beach Post last year that because of RMD, each fire truck and ambulance is now equipped with a paramedic, making calls to service faster.
The new program has sparked criticism among the department and Long Beach community, with people concerned about the quality and timeliness of patient care.
“2014 was a tough year for EMS,” Dolan said. “There were some really, really tough times for us. There were some times when we felt more like a cafeteria worker saying, ‘Hey, we have this awesome new menu. It’s a brussel sprout sandwich, and we want everyone to take a bite.’ We kind of hit that battle every single time that we were going through this. Nobody likes change. We understand, but we’re trying to do the best job that we can do. Yes, I did a good job, but I did a good job based on my staff.”
Additionally, the following people were also given badges and promotions at Thursday’s ceremony:
- Daniel Cunningham, promoted to Communications Center Supervisor
- Brian Olson, promoted to Communication Center Administrative Supervisor
- Kathleen Kacoullas, promoted to Level IV Shift Supervisor
- Christopher Glover, promoted to Level IV Shift Supervisor
- Antonio Gomez, promoted to fire engineer
- Luis Monge, promoted to fire engineer
- Kasey Kooiman, promoted to fire engineer
- Andy Chan, promoted to fire engineer
- Bryan Presetti, promoted to fire engineer
- Matthew Bolen, promoted to fire captain
- Adam Knopp, promoted to fire captain
- Tony Parra, promoted to fire captain
- Andrew Asari, promoted to fire captain
- Karen Rindone, promoted to fire captain. She is the second woman in the history of the department to be promoted to captain, LBFD officials said.
- Gonzalo Medina, promoted to Marine Safety Chief and member of the Command Staff
- Patrick Morrison, promoted to rescue boat operator
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