Scarborough public safety staffers honored

SCARBOROUGH — At a special ceremony April 28 at Scarborough High School, annual awards and citations were handed to public safety personnel, including honorees from the police, fire, dispatch and EMS departments.

“Scarborough is quite unique in that all of our public safety departments work so well together, and this annual event helps illustrate that,” said Fire Chief Michael Thurlow.

“There are very few communities that I am aware of that have the kind of working relationships between departments that we enjoy here in Scarborough,” agreed Police Chief Robbie Moulton. “I have the greatest respect for all of these individuals, who at a moment’s notice, may be asked to face armed adversaries, rush into a burning building, perform life-saving measures in the worst of conditions, or simply serve as the life line of hope to our citizens.”

Both chiefs presented unit citations “for professional efforts at serious incidents that required teamwork and cooperation to bring the incident to a successful conclusion.”  In addition, Moulton conferred formal commendations on officers Doug Weed, Josh Guay, Andrew Flynn, Tim Barker and Sgt. Tom Chard, along with K-9 agent Chesca, who, on Aug. 23, tracked down a drug dealer who had crashed his car following a high-speed chase and fled through the woods.

Weed was recognized for forensic expertise in cracking an Oct. 16 burglary on Payne Road, while he and Guay were called out for solving a string of Black Point Road break-ins going back two years.

Flynn and Baker were commended for solving the theft of 15 firearms from a Grant Road home April 27, 2011. Flynn also was commended for saving a life of an elderly Scarborough Terrace resident on March 27, 2011. When the woman could not be located after activating her alert bracelet, Flynn used his cruiser-mounted thermal camera to find her lying in the snow, in below freezing temperatures.

Special awards presented based on nominations from peer groups included:

• Police Officer of the Year – Ronald Nelson.

• Dispatcher of the Year – Joe Thornton.

• Police Leadership Award – Joe Giacomantonio.

• Support Service Person of the Year – Ralph Masciovecchio.

• Student Firefighter of the Year – Troy Cailler.

• Paramedic of the Year – Shannon Mazyck.

• Fire Officer of the Year – Lt. Mark Searway.

• Fire Fighter of the Year – Levi Jones.

• Emergency Medical Technician of the Year - Mike Haven.

Moulton presented Police Chief’s Merit Awards to Flynn and Retired Police Chief Hollis Dixon. Thurlow gave a Fire Chief’s Merit Award to Firefighter Chad Johnston.

In addition, Citizen Merit Awards were presented to residents Bruce Bell and Laurie Walker. On Oct. 26, Bell alerted police to a suspicious vehicle parked in his neighbor’s yard. Police arrived to find a burglary in progress. On Nov. 18, Walker called 911 to report seeing an elderly woman fall from a ladder. Walker was driving by and stopped to provide first aid until EMS crews arrived.

Also recognized during the ceremony were a number of long-serving personnel, including Detective Sgt. Rick Rouse, Deputy Fire Chief Anthony Attardo, Lt. Alan Nielsen, Peter Paras, and Dan Litchfield (25 years); Evidence Technician Ronald Nelson and Firefighter Arthur Greene (30 years); Chief Thurlow, Deputy Fire Chief Glen Deering, Capt. David Jackson, and Firefighters Dan Larrabee and Steve Chamberlain (35 years); and Firefighter Benjamin Chase (50 years).