The City of Cincinnati congratulates five firefighters who were honored this week by the Rotary Club of Cincinnati for their service to the community at their annual Firefighter Appreciation Day. 

Bravery/Valor Award

Firefighter Bryan Charles and Firefighter William Hursong
On April 24, 2022, Cincinnati Fire Department’s Ladder and Medic 17 were dispatched for a report of a civilian bitten by large dogs roaming Mt. Echo Park. Upon arrival, the companies decided to enter the park instead of waiting for police, who were not yet enroute. Firefighters discovered there were numerous civilians in the vicinity of the Pitbull dogs. There was a family photo shoot taking place as well as a wedding ceremony.

While Medic 17 assisted the victim, two members of the ladder company worked to clear the immediate vicinity of the incident and close further access to the park. Firefighters Bryan Charles and William Hursong donned bunker pans and gloves. They used New York hooks to corral the dogs away from civilians. For approximately 20 minutes, while awaiting police and animal control, Firefighters Charles and Hursong continued to confine the dogs using only hand tools. The dogs were nipping at the firefighters’ pants and boots, but that didn’t deter them from continuing to keep the dogs away from park goers.

 

Community Service Award

Firefighter Brian Doering
Firefighter Brian Doering is no stranger to service to others. Before joining the Cincinnati Fire Department to serve the citizens of Cincinnati in 2008, he served his country in the United States Army. During his time with the CFD, Firefighter Doering trained to become a Paramedic. With his experience and expertise, he serves on many of the local EMS committees in the Southwest Ohio region. He is often asked to speak at local hospitals for educational purposes and for Joint Commission site visits for accreditation. Firefighter Doering is a gifted educator and has been an invaluable asset to the Cincinnati Paramedic Program. The courseload for certifications can be demanding, and he has given hundreds of hours of his own time to teach, tutor, and mentor Paramedic and EMT students from the CFD and neighboring fire departments.

 

Self Improvement Award

District Chief Greg Phelia
District Chief Greg Phelia has been with the Cincinnati Fire Department for over 27 years. In that time, he has served the City of Cincinnati on fire companies and in Fire Administration. He has been instrumental in helping with multiple projects in various Divisions. Most recently, Chief Phelia was assigned to the Fire Prevention and Community Risk Reduction Division. He has spent recent years pursuing higher education, and in May of 2022, Chief Phelia received a Master of Business Administration with a minor in Human Resource Management from Columbia Southern University. He is working to start his Doctoral program in the coming months.

 

Administrative Award

District Chief Carstell Winston
District Chief Carstell Winston is a 27-year veteran of the CFD. He is assigned to the Emergency Medical Services Bureau where he oversees the CFD’s response to over 80,000 EMS responses annually.

Chief Winston has worked on numerous programs to improve the Fire Department’s service delivery to the citizens and visitors of the City of Cincinnati. He has spearheaded the “ET3” (Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport) Program to develop a model that works best for Cincinnati. He was instrumental to the success of the CFD being selected as 1 of only 50 departments in the country for this project.

Chief Winston has worked with local doctors and City attorneys on multiple legal contracts which have been vital to the CFD performing EMS field research with partners such as Cincinnati Children’s and the University of Cincinnati. This work will allow the CFD to continue leading the way in emergency medicine, impacting and changing the way treatment is administered in the field.

When it comes to cardiac care, the American Heart Association measures the standard of care. Chief Winston’s leadership of the EMS Bureau has resulted in the Cincinnati Fire Department being recognized as an AHA Mission: Lifeline Gold+ department in 2020 and 2021. The Department is on track for 2022 as well. Cincinnati Fire is the only major metropolitan city in Ohio to hit this high standard.

Another initiative Chief Winston has spearheaded for the CFD is the partnership he worked to build with LifeCenter, which directly impacts saving lives through the donation of eyes and tissues.

 

Congratulations to these five incredible public servants for being recognized!