Puslinch fire captain John Uptegrove is the 2015 Ontario Training Officer of the Year.
In presenting the award to Uptegrove on Jan. 6, Mayor Dennis Lever noted the township received the good News a while ago, but Uptegrove was not available at the time.
As a result, the presentation was delayed to ensure both Uptegrove and Puslinch fire chief Steven Goode were available for the presentation.
“I first heard about Captain Uptegrove’s reputation for excellence in training many years ago … before I was actually on council,” said Lever.
The mayor added everyone that has participated in one of Uptegrove’s sessions has great things to say about him – and all highly recommended his sessions to others.
Goode recently stated, “John is an integral part of our team, an asset to fire rescue organizations, and we are very pleased and proud of John’s accomplishments.”
The Ontario Association of Fire Training Officers Executive voted Uptegrove as the 2015 Ontario Training Officer of the Year.
Lever said, “On behalf of us all John, congratulations and thank you. This is an incredible award.”
Goode added, “John is an absolute asset to our organization.
“You may have heard of our devastating fire the other day (Classy Lane horse barn fire),” at which Uptegrove was incident commander, Goode explained.
“He did an amazing job. Everybody came home safe and we did the best we could.”
Goode said collectively working with other fire departments takes a lot of work to prepare people for incidents like that – and the Puslinch department’s quality shows with Captain Uptegrove.
“I could not be any more proud of you than I am today,” Goode added.
