At the Virginia Fire Rescue Conference in Virginia Beach last weekend, two Newport News firefighters were recognized for their achievements. Lieutenant Sidney Lucas received the Governor’s Fire Service award and was named Virginia Firefighter of the Year; and Assistant Fire Chief Robert Lee was awarded the Executive Fire Officer certification from the National Fire Academy.
Lieutenant Lucas, a Navy Veteran who served in Operation Enduring Freedom, has been instrumental in promoting and advocating for Mental Health Awareness in Virginia’s Fire Services. Lieutenant Lucas began his career as a volunteer firefighter with the Belle and Cedar Grove Volunteer Fire Departments in West Virginia in 1999. He has been a member of the Newport News Fire Department since 2006 and currently serves as Safety Officer for the Department. As a participant of the Regional Safety Officer’s Work Group and State
Behavioral Health Committee for the Fire
Lieutenant Sidney Lucas and Assistant Chief Robert Lee
Service, he has continuously influenced the development of multiple policies and programs including, the Respiratory Protection program, the Fire Ground Rehabilitation Cancer Prevention and Awareness program, Hazardous Communications program and the Mental Health Awareness in the Fire Services program. Sidney is also the Virginia State Advocate for the Fallen Firefighter’s Foundation at the National Fire Academy.
Assistant Fire Chief Lee, who has been with NNFD since 1994, earned the prestigious Executive Fire Officer certification through a program that provides senior fire officers with a broad perspective on the various facets of fire and emergency services administration. This program helps prepare the current and future Fire Chiefs in America’s Fire Service for the many challenges, opportunities and threats of the 21st century. This is a four year program that requires the candidates to attend classes at the Fire Academy campus in Emmitsburg, Maryland for two weeks each year to receive hands on instruction and training. The required training covers the topics of Executive Development, Executive Analysis of Community Risk Reduction, Executive Analysis of Fire Service Operations and Emergency Management and Executive Leadership. Each Chief Officer is required to complete an applied research paper after each year’s program on a topic that relates to the candidate’s organization. This research paper is graded for each topic area to allow the chief officers to demonstrate the knowledge obtained and the lessons learned and to find real life solutions to problems and issues that the fire service is currently facing.