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Jones named Firefighter of the Year
Brandon Jones remains amazed that his fellow firefighters selected him for this honor
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WINFIELD — As National Fire Prevention Week came to a close, Winfield Fire and Rescue recognized Brandon Jones as Firefighter of the Year at the annual soup supper.
Saturday evening, Oct. 12, the Winfield community enjoyed a soup and chili supper for a free will donation as they celebrated the hard work of the town’s fire department alongside its volunteers. Each year at the supper fire department volunteers like Jones are recognized for their commitment to the organization.
“I just want to say thank you to all the other firefighters and EMS that voted me Firefighter of the Year,” Jones said. “It feels amazing to have my fellow firefighters vote for me. I was completely blown away.”
Jones began volunteering with the Winfield Fire and Rescue nine years ago, although, he admits he has always wanted to be a firefighter. Over his years of service, Jones says he has a learned a lot from all of his fellow firefighters. Most importantly, he has learned the importance of going in slow and working as a team.
“Everyone is like a brotherhood or a family, and everyone has their own piece that they bring to the table every incident,” Jones said.
In addition to being part of the Winfield Fire and Rescue team, Jones is a husband to Renae and father to Scarlett, Oliver, and Jaxton. Although, family life spills over into the fire department as his oldest, Jaxton, is also a cadet with the department.
With this year’s Fire Prevention Week slogan of “Smoke alarms, make them work for you,” it is appropriate for Jones’ top tips for fire safety to include checking your smoke alarm batteries.
“Make sure you’re changing your smoke alarm batteries,” Jones said. “Or put them back in if you take them out when you’re cooking bacon inside and smoke up your house.”
Jones also encourages families to sleep with their bedroom doors shut. According to the National Fire Safety Council, nearly 60% of people sleep with their bedroom doors open. Closing doors can slow the spread of smoke, heat, and fire.
On top of honoring Jones, Winfield Fire and Rescue presented pins to Amy Liles, Cathy Eaton, Jeff Dietrich, and Todd Kleemeyer for 15 years of service at the soup supper.
Nation Fire Prevention Week in Winfield also included some visits to Winfield-Mt. Union Elementary earlier in the week. One visit included a favorite for Jones as he gave out high-fives for High-Five Friday last week alongside Sparky the Dog, played by his son Jaxton.
“I think it is really cool that we do that,” Jones said.
Morning Sun Fire Department also joined in on celebrating National Fire Prevention week at Winfield-Mt. Union Elementary when one of the volunteers stopped in some classrooms to talk about fire safety. A volunteer let students try on the fire gear and see him dressed up with all the bells and whistles, too. This is an important part of fire safety education for young children, as familiarizing them with what a firefighter looks like outside of a fire, could help that same firefighter look less scary if they ever meet in a fire.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com
