At the Lakeside Fire Protection District Board Meeting on Tuesday, February 28, 2012, Lakeside had a badge pinning ceremony for the department's two most recent promotions. The district has recently promoted Engineer Ian Lowe to the position of fire captain and Firefighter/Paramedic Lance Buford to the position of engineer. In the ceremony Fire Chief Andrew Parr, in front of a large crowd of citizens in attendance at the board meeting, gave some history on the positions Ian and Lance were being promoted into and what it takes to fill these positions.
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| From left to right: Engineer Buford, Captain Lowe, Fire Chief Parr |
Captain Lowe joined the Lakeside Fire Protection District on November 6, 2000, as a firefighter/paramedic and was promoted to engineer in June of 2008. During his 11.5 years with the department Ian has been involved in many projects including overseeing the the annual public open house .
With his new role, Captain Lowe will be taking over the position of training captain for the department. He is already hard at work sculpting future fire recruit candidates at the 22nd Heartland Fire Academy where he is one of the four lead instructors and acting as the Lakeside Fire training representative. Captain Lowe is now assigned to station 1 on B-Division.
Engineer Buford was hired by Lakeside on March 30, 2002 also as a firefighter / paramedic. He has spent the past 9 years working on both the engines and the ambulances in the district. Lance holds the reputation of being one of the finest chefs on the department so it is not uncommon that when not performing his duties he creating something in the kitchen that is sure to put the rest of our dinner creations to shame.
In addition to his new role of fire engineer, Lance and his wife Melissa have recently had their first child, something Lance is sure to find involves more wake-ups than the medic unit. Engineer Buford is now assigned to Station 3 on C-Division, which is a great challenge for an engineer because of the variety of apparatus housed at Station 3.
Promotions within the Lakeside Fire protection District represent much more than time served. On a department such as Lakeside, which has limited promotions due to the size of the district (4 stations), promotions are filled based on a list that is established through a testing process. These promotional tests occur once every two years for each position and have established minimum requirements to take the test based on the position the candidates are testing for. With the high-driven nature of the firefighters of the Lakeside Fire Protection District, promotional exams are highly competitive affairs with crews studying and preparing for up to a year in advance of the test date. The tests, though different for each position, entail written, manipulative, and interview components and take several days to complete. Both Ian and Lance have demonstrated that they possess the skills and knowledge necessary to not only fill their positions but excel in them. The Lakeside Fire Protection District is happy to have Captain Lowe and Engineer Buford here in Lakeside to serve the citizens of the district.
Photo and Story submitted by: Captain/Paramedic Bernie Molloy
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| Captain Lowe with his family |
Engineer Buford was hired by Lakeside on March 30, 2002 also as a firefighter / paramedic. He has spent the past 9 years working on both the engines and the ambulances in the district. Lance holds the reputation of being one of the finest chefs on the department so it is not uncommon that when not performing his duties he creating something in the kitchen that is sure to put the rest of our dinner creations to shame.
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| Engineer Buford with his family and newest member of the Lakeside Fire family |
Promotions within the Lakeside Fire protection District represent much more than time served. On a department such as Lakeside, which has limited promotions due to the size of the district (4 stations), promotions are filled based on a list that is established through a testing process. These promotional tests occur once every two years for each position and have established minimum requirements to take the test based on the position the candidates are testing for. With the high-driven nature of the firefighters of the Lakeside Fire Protection District, promotional exams are highly competitive affairs with crews studying and preparing for up to a year in advance of the test date. The tests, though different for each position, entail written, manipulative, and interview components and take several days to complete. Both Ian and Lance have demonstrated that they possess the skills and knowledge necessary to not only fill their positions but excel in them. The Lakeside Fire Protection District is happy to have Captain Lowe and Engineer Buford here in Lakeside to serve the citizens of the district.
Photo and Story submitted by: Captain/Paramedic Bernie Molloy
Lance will make Lakeside and his family proud!:)
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