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Lane Steele, who has served the Magee Fire Department for over 39 years, was recognized as the Fireman of the Year. Lane has received this award 3 times during his career.
Sue Note: The Firemen’s Banquet is a special time of recognization of the men who give so much of their time and energy to keep the citizens of Magee and Simpson County safe. I often wonder if we really realize what these guys do. Sure we see them riding fire trucks to the fires. We see them holding hose spraying on the fires. We see them assisting with wrecks and all emergencies. But, many do not realize what a commitment being a fire man takes. The “after hour” jobs often go unnoticed. The cleaning of the trucks…the loading of the hose…the meetings…the schooling…the nights with no sleep. These guys are dedicated. The Magee Firemen truly love Magee and its people. On this night, I always learn and am reminded what these guys actually do for our city.
The Magee Fire Department had a total of 274 hours of training at an average of 9.4 hours per active member .
The Magee Fire Department responded to 231 fire calls last year for a total of 1,153 man hours spent on scene which is an average of 37.2 hours per firefighter.
The following firefighters responded to 50% or greater of the fire calls for the year:
Philip Allan (deceased) 53%, Hunter Steele 62%, John Ready 69%, Shane Steele 81%, and Ben Berch 87%. The top percentage in fire call attendance was Lane Steel with 91.34%. Lane attended 211 out of 231 calls.
Shane Steele recognized the following fire fighters who made 75% or better in meeting attendance:
Michael Allan 75%, John Ready 75%, Shane Steele 75%, David Craft 79%, Reuben Kohen 88%, Mark Parker 83%, Shane Little 92%, and James Fortenberry 92%.
The following fire fighters made 100% attendance at the meetings: Lane Steele (Lane has only missed 4 meetings in 39 years!), Ben Berch, and Philip Allan (deceased).
Fire fighters who attended 50% or greater of both meetings and fire calls: Philip Allan (deceased), Ben Berch, John Ready, Hunter Steele, Lane Steele, and Shane Steele. The award was provided by PriorityOne Bank of Magee,
Fire fighters recognized for years of service:
Patrick Zilla 5 years, Reuben Koehn 5 years, David Craft 15 years, Shane Steele 15 years, Chris Nichols 20 years, and the late Philip Allan 24 years.
Philip Allan’s family was honored in appreciation of the 24 years Philip gave to the fire department . (November 1999-May 2023). Pictured are Philip’s wife Jean and his children Jessica and Michael.
Matt Harrison presented Lane Steele as Fireman of the Year.
Chaplin James Fortenberry dismissed the meeting.
The banquet was held at Berry Seafood Restaurant. Each fireman’s wife plus other ladies were honored with a rose presented by their husbands or friends.
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