Atlantic, Iowa – Atlantic Fire Department member and Assistant Police Chief Paul Wood was surprised last Saturday (Feb. 10th), when his name was called to receive the “Firefighter of the Year” Award. “(My reaction to getting this award is) surprised, happy, grateful,” Wood said following the banquet “I’m.grateful for the award and grateful to be part of this department.”

Pictured (from left to right) Atlantic Fire Chief Tom Cappel presented the “Firefighter of the Year” Award to Paul Wood on Saturday night during the firefighter banquet.

Atlantic Fire Chief Tom Cappel said there were a lot of things that made Wood stand out as a recipient for the award during this past year. “Throughout the year, we hold monthly fire trainings, which we hope to learn from and hone our skills,” Cappel said during the banquet when presenting the awards. “This person took the time to do a lot of those training sessions, (and) made the time to do a lot of other training besides just the fire end of it. They also made a lot of calls for the fire department during this past year. I have had a lot of great conversations with this individual about fire scenes. This person also makes the time to help out with the volunteering we do in the community. This person also helps me out with fire investigations, writing fire reports, and he takes care of getting fire prevention all scheduled and getting department members lined up to help.”

Wood said he originally considered becoming a member of the department after working with Atlantic Firefighters as part of his role in the police department. “I’m a police officer so I worked with these (firefighters) a lot,” Wood said. “And decided I wanted to become a fireman and joined, and enjoyed it ever since. And I got into the fire prevention (part) several years ago when Dustin McLaren did it, and I took it over from there.”

Wood said he’s been a member of the fire department for 16 years, been a police officer for 20 years, and one of his favorite parts is investigating the cause of fires.The investigations are probably my favorite part -(trying to figure out) how (fires) started,” he said.

In addition to the Firefighter of the Year award, six current and one retired Atlantic Firefighter was recognized for years of service during the department’s banquet held on Feb. 10th.

• ReAnn Cappel was recognized for being a member of the department for five years
• Mitch Peerbolte was recognized for being a member of the department for 10 years.
• Andy Kloewer was recognized for being a member of the department for 15 years.
• Todd Cappel, Shawn Page and Chris Towne were recognized for being members of the department for 25 years.

Pictured is the statue Norm Clark donated to the department.

Retired firefighter Norm Clark presented a statue to the department in memory of his wife.

Retired firefighter Norm Clark also presented the department with a firefighter statue. His wife passed away in November, and he said she always said she was “going to buy something and give it to the department.” So he decided to purchase the statue, and it was “going to be a memorial from my wife to the fire department.”

(Photos and information courtesy of Jennifer Nichols w/the Atlantic News Telegraph)

ReAnn Cappel (pictured with Atlantic Fire Chief Tom Cappel) was recognized for being a member of the department for five years.

Andy Kloewer (pictured with Atlantic Fire Chief Tom Cappel) was recognized for being a member of the department for 15 years.

Mitch Peerbolte (pictured with Atlantic Fire Chief Tom Cappel) was recognized for being a member of the department for 10 years.

Shawn Page, Tom Cappel and Chris Towne were recognized for being a member of the department for 25 years. Pictured are (from left to right) Page, Roger Bissen, past IFA president and current president of the Iowa Fire Chief Association holding Towne’s award since he was not present at the banquet and Cappel.