Maple Ridge Fire and Rescue held an awards ceremony over the weekend, to welcome new members and celebrate career milestones of other dedicated firefighters.
About 200 people attended a ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 1, at the Albion Community Centre.
Those who just completed their training, received promotions, received federal or provincial long service medals, or recently retired were honoured, explained assistant fire chief Nick Virs.
Long service recipients included: Art Lilley who received an award for his four decades of service; Mike Stewart who was a 35-year award recipient; Karim Farahbakhchian for 30 years; and Chris Gaudette for 25 years of service.
Those who reached the 20 year milestone included: Gary Porter, Rob Taylor, Robert Bruce, Boo Sharma, Graham Wing, Clint Hopper, Travis Cummings, Marco Bonifazi, Rob Macdonald, and Mary Foster.
Four members celebrated their retirement: Foster, Lilley, John Haydu, and Shane McCulloch.
There were also 17 members of the 2023 and 2024 paid-on-call recruit class on hand, as well as eight members who received career promotions.
