The Southlake Police and Fire Departments had the largest crowd ever at the annual National Night Out event that was held on Saturday, October 10th in Town Square. It was also a great ending to Fire Prevention and DPS Appreciation week. “It is always such a pleasure for members of the fire and police departments to get an opportunity to meet Southlake citizens at events like this one and during our other Public Educations events and station tours,” said Deputy Fire Chief Wade Carroll. We feel so blessed to partner with the Southlake Rotary Club who goes out of their way each year to show how much they appreciate police officers and firefighters. Not only does the Rotary generously provide college scholarships to the children of first responders; they also help us honor one of our own each year. A firefighter or police officer that has been a standout and represents the core values of the City is chosen. The core values being: integrity, innovation, teamwork, accountability and excellence.

This year’s winner is someone who embodies all of the City’s core values. Congratulations to this year’s Firefighter of the Year winner — Fire/Engineer Ricky Davis.  

Ricky is not only a great employee but he also loves serving the public. Whether it’s fighting fires, teaching CPR, first aid, or fire safety to citizens and kids he always goes that extra mile.  In fact, this year he came up with a great idea to help children learn about fire safety in the home. — Which reminds me of a quote:

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Tell me and I forget.  Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” 

And that is exactly the kind of thinking that Ricky had when he came up with the idea to build a pint-sized replica of a fully furnished house to demonstrate to kids what happens during a fire. He solicited the help of firefighters at Station 1, “C” shift to help build a two-story, doll-sized house with Plexiglas sides so that the kids could see how quickly a house fills with smoke.

The house really helps to get kids involved in the lesson. Having a visual like this helps teach kids what to do in the event a fire breaks out in their home. They can close a door to see what happens with the smoke; they can also see how a smoke obstructs visibility and what they should do to alert first responders.

Ricky truly represents the Southlake Way. He took the initiative to come up with a better way to teach public education to kids. As you can see he is very passionate about fire safety and prevention and public education.

It’s just another reason why Ricky stands out and why he was chosen as this year’s Firefighter of the year.  We are proud of Ricky. Congratulations Ricky Davis as Firefighter of the Year!

A big shout out goes to Renni Burt and Valerie Snyder who worked behind-the-scenes for months with the Southlake Rotary Club, vendors and multiple City departments to make the night a huge success! Thank you to our Community Initiatives Team and all the police and fire personnel who participated to make the night a memorable one for Southlake Citizens.