Cocoa Fire Rescue Receive Honors For Service Above and Beyond Call of Duty
By Yvonne Martinez, Public Information Officer C.F.D // June 15, 2016
Nick Slaughter is Firefighter of the Year
BREVARD COUNTY • COCOA, FLORIDA – Chief Gene Prince delivered awards and recognition to more than a dozen firefighters and paramedics last week. Nine personnel also received promotions from firefighter to driver operators.
The recognition was for Paramedic Firefighter of the year, Fire Officer of the Year, Unit Citation for exceptional service and recognition for personal achievement. Among the award recipients was Nick Slaughter, who was named Cocoa Fire Department’s 2015 Firefighter of the Year.
Chief Prince remarked Slaughter was deserving of the award for his extremely hard work ethic and dedication to the department and the citizens of Cocoa.
Prince noted several occurrences where Firefighter Slaughter worked on his own time to improve the safety and efficiency of the department through researching and executing new equipment features, making repairs outside his normal duties and saving the city money by finding ways to integrate new tools and use them more efficiently.
“Firefighter Slaughter performs above and beyond the call of duty every day,” Chief Prince stated.
“Whether it is a fire or rescue call, or just finding ways to make things work better, the City of Cocoa is fortunate to have him.”
Chief Prince also recognized outstanding service and team work during a structure fire in which the responding unit attempted to rescue a male victim. The fired occurred on December 3 on Nomad St.
Responding personnel forced entry into the rear of the burning structure and pulled the victim out. The crews immediately began to render aid to the victim including CPR, but he had already succumbed to the heat and smoke from the fire.
“While the victim in this case did not survive, this team gave a valiant effort and displayed a high regard for team effort under combat conditions,” Chief Prince said.
“This exemplifies the department’s mission to protect life and property and their efforts are commendable.”
Other awards and recognition was handed out for service that went above and beyond the call of duty.
Firefighter of the Quarter (October-December 2015): Edward Bragg
Firefighter of the Quarter (January-March 2016): Ryan Barton
Firefighter of the Year 2015: Nick Slaughter
Achievement Awards:
• Luis Justiniano, Fire Officer II and associate degree in Emergency Medical Services with honors.
• Alan Clark, Bachelor’s degree in Public Safety Administration; Fire Chief’s Award of Excellence:
• Edward Bragg; Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus Program
• Josh Vandegrift;, Personal Protective Equipment Program
Space Coast Fire Chief’s Association:
• Nick Slaughter – Paramedic Firefighter of the Year
• Lt. Mark Silverman – Fire Officer of the Year
Unit Citation Exceptional Service recognition included District Chief David Rocque, Lt. Mark Silverman, Driver Operator Edward Bragg, Firefighter Jamie Makuch, Lt. Bruce Hutchinson, Firefighter Eric Holt and Firefighter Alex Canderlario.
Promotion to Driver Operator: Charles Burkhardt, Allen Clark, Edward Bragg, Luis Justiniano, Stephen Register, Nick Slaughter, Matthew Holiday, Mathew Houyouse and Patrick Madden.
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The Cocoa Fire Department currently employs 44 certified firefighter/EMT’s and 1 civilian.
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