2011 Firefighter of the Year, Dan Holloway

The City of Porterville Fire Department is pleased to announce the selection of Engineer Dan Holloway as our 2011 Firefighter of the Year.  Engineer Holloway’s selection was based on his enthusiastic dedication and loyalty, his value as a role model, his participation as a team player and his ever-positive attitude and sense of humor.
         
Dan Holloway is a life-long resident and a 4th generation citizen of Porterville. He attended our local schools, graduating from Porterville High School in 1973. He obtained his AA Degree in Fire Technology from Porterville College in 2000.

Dan began his career with the Porterville Fire Department as a Reserve Firefighter in November 1984. In November 1987 he accepted a full-time Firefighter position, and in May 1992 he was promoted to the rank of Fire Engineer.

Engineer Holloway serves as the Fire Department’s Public Education Officer, serving the residents of Porterville as well as surrounding communities. For nine years in a row Dan has spear-headed the local Battle of the Badges Blood Drive. His untiring Public Education activities at local schools provide an invaluable service to the community, and he has served on the Tulare County Organizing committee to implement the state-sponsored Baby Safe Surrender Program. Dan is a Hazardous Materials technician and as the only Haz-Mat instructor for the Porterville Fire Department he provides training for the department as well as to the Tule River Reservation Fire Department. He also manages all critical stress debriefing incidents, and is the coordinator for the department’s website.

More recently, Dan Holloway wrote a grant that was awarded to the Porterville Fire Department in the amount of $177,000 for public education, from the Department of Homeland Security. The grant has three main components:

1. Direct delivery of fire prevention and safety instruction
2. Door-to-door smoke alarm installation – 1200 alarms installed
3. Media campaign – road billboards, transit bus billboards, graphic public education displays on fire apparatus

Dan serves on the disaster preparedness committee at Sierra View District Hospital. Furthermore, he has made fire and life-safety presentations to 30,000 citizens of Porterville during 2010, an increase from 3,400 in 2005.

Dan’s hobbies are cooking and hunting. He serves as vice-chairman on the Summit Charter Academy school board. Dan is the president of the Burton Educational Partnership Foundation and is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce, serving as an ambassador. He is also on the advisory committee and is a mentor for the Porterville High School Partnership Health Academies.

Dan is married to Karen, who herself was awarded the Exchange Club’s Firefighter of the Year award in 1994. They have two daughters, Kayla and Ally.

Once again, we are pleased to present Dan Holloway as the 2011 Firefighter of the Year for the City of Porterville Fire Department.

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2010 Firefighter of the Year, David Smith

David is an area local, he was born and raised in Woodville, CA.

David began his Fire Service Career in 1992 as a Paid Call Firefighter with the Tulare County Fire Department. He put himself through the Porterville College Fire Academy in 1996 and in May of 1998, became a Reserve Firefighter with the Porterville Fire Department. In October – four months later,  he accepted a fulltime position with the Porterville Fire Department and promoted to the rank of Engineer in July of 2007.

David continuously strives to improve his knowledge, skills, and abilities through training and education and is Certified by the California Fire Service Training and Education System for:

• Firefighter I
• Firefighter II
• Driver/Operator
• Rescue Systems
• Confined Space Rescue
• Fire Officer (10, 40hr. classes, test, 80% passing)

Today, David is a valuable asset to the Department and the community. Because of his training, education, and experience, he is able to serve as an Acting Officer in the Operations Division. David is an active member of the departments apparatus specifications committee contributing to planning and design of four new fire apparatus. 

Due to his expertise in the field of emergency medical treatment, he manages the Departments Emergency Medical Program and has provided hundreds of hours of instruction to our firefighters,  increasing their skill and ability, and improving the level of emergency medical care we provide the community.

David is a founding member of the Porterville Fire Department’s Honor Guard, serving as the Number Two Lead, carrying the State Flag. From the Guard’s inception in 2001, David has not missed a single Honor Guard presentation.

David has shown over the course of his career that he has outstanding work habits, near-perfect attendance, a team spirit and dedication to serving his community. David’s conduct during emergency operations has been exemplary. He has a “can do” attitude and no project is too hard to accomplish. He performs his duties with a calm efficiency and always steps forward when help is needed.

He spends much of his spare time in the community volunteering for church and youth activities. David and his beautiful bride Sara, enjoy playing golf and working on their new house.