Bruce Whetten

Douglas Dispatch

Raul Alvarado

Local firefighter Raul Alvarado was honored as the Firefighter of the Year at the Douglas Fire Department’s annual awards dinner held June 30 at the Fire Station on 10th Street.

The event was for all DFD members, families and special guests.

Douglas’ Fire Chief Mario Novoa said the dinner was well attended and certain staff who completed their first year probation received their official firefighter badge in front of all their colleagues and families. DFD members who received their firefighter badges were Manny Escalante and Joel Gonzales.

Promotional badges were also pinned on DFD staff members who have been promoted within the last year. DFD members in this category included Engineer Jorge Alba, Engineer Jesse Munoz and Lt. Engineer Joseph Alvarez.

Alvarado was nominated for the firefighter of the year award by Capt. Manny Ayala.

“The Fire Department does not respond to emergencies only from Monday through Friday, 9 to 5. We respond to emergencies at all hours of the day and night, weekends and holidays included,” Ayala said in his nomination. “We often get so busy with calls that we have to call people in to cover the minimum staffing requirements. While all of our firefighters are willing to support the department whenever they can, leaving their families and their time off to make sure the department is covered, there are some that always go the extra mile that always come in and help out. Engineer Paramedic Raul Alvarado is one of those firefighters, always ready to respond when the department needs additional manpower, be it in the morning, in the middle of the night, or during a holiday. Raul also comes in to help when transports to other hospitals are needed, such as when a patient needs to be transferred to Tucson or Sierra Vista.”

“Raul is a very good person and is very well deserving of this award,” the Chief said regarding Alvarado’s honor. “I congratulate him and wish him the best on his future years as a member of the City of Douglas Fire Department.”

Chief Novoa also stated that he is very proud of the employees who serve our community every minute of every day in the fire service. He also thanked all the Fire Staff members’ families for supporting their loved ones decision to make the commitment to serve in the fire service and put their lives on the line every day.

The chief added he would like to thank Douglas Meat Market, The Gadsden Hotel, Southern Arizona Auto., Food City and the Douglas Dispatch for the continued support towards this annual event.