East Manatee Fire Rescue awards top honors

Award winners

Firefighter of the Year: Todd DePatie

Fire Officer of the Year: Casey Lambert

Rookie of the Year: Jennifer Diaz

30 years of service: Lt. Brian Kalmbach

40 years of service: Chief Lee Whitehurst

STORY

Todd DePatie, an engineer firefighter with East Manatee Fire Rescue, tells the story now, and can smile.

It was a few years back and he drove his engine to a call at Hunsader Farms in response to a fire.

His fellow firefighters were ready to do their thing, but there was one hitch. No water.

The engine wouldn't go into pump mode.

DePatie said it is his responsibility to get water to the people on the nozzle, and he quickly began troubleshooting. Unfortunately, nothing worked.

Then he thought about something rather simple. He turned the truck off, and then turned it back on again. The water started to flow.

"That was the last thing we tried," he said. "Turn it off, turn it on."

Perhaps it's a good example of the thought Braden Woods' DePatie takes to work with him each day. Nothing is too minor or simple to ignore.

On Feb. 18 at the Board of Fire Commissioners meeting, his peers let him know his attention to detail on a daily basis does not go overlooked. He was honored as the East Manatee Fire Rescue Firefighter of the Year.

"I was very surprised," said DePatie, who has worked for the district for 14 years. "A lot of guys who work here are deserving. I think you have to work hard, and be dedicated. There's a lot of training ... that's big in this department. But it's hard to say why I won. I try to show up, and be prepared to do my best. I enjoy being busy."

Battalion Chief Kyle Taylor said DePatie's extra effort led to the recognition.

"He will take care of everything and anything around the station," Taylor said. "Quite honestly, you don't hear much from him. You just hear someone say, 'Who took care of that?'"

DePatie did want to mention that he worked with and learned from Lt. Richard Dunkum, now retired, for 13 years. "He was a great mentor," he said. "The fire service is a brotherhood. We all work together."

Alongside DePatie, Casey Lambert earned the Fire Officer of the Year Award.

Lambert joined East Manatee Fire Rescue at the same time as DePatie, 14 years ago. He ascended to Battalion Chief a year ago.

"I am humbled by this," Lambert said. "At the end of the day, we do what we do for the citizens. But it was a prideful moment."

He said he would never have expected to have been honored during his first year as a battalion chief.

"It has been a huge learning curve," he said. "Being in charge of an entire shift ... that's six stations, the personnel, the apparatus. You have to mix with a lot of personalities."

Lambert said he simply tries to be himself, as well as being hands-on when possible, such as helping to wash trucks or doing other chores.

His area of responsibility is real estate maintenance.

"I am responsible for toilets to roofing," he said with a laugh.

When he joined the department 14 years ago, he never aspired to being a battalion chief.

"It's night and day," he said. "When I was a rookie, it was all about being a fireman. You don't think about the business aspect. You look at a budget and it's just a bunch of numbers on a page."

Lambert lives in Myakka City with his wife, Jeanne, and 7-year-old son, Colton. DePatie and his wife, Alison, have four children, 20-year-old Harley, 16-year-old Sydney, 12-year-old Owen and 7-year-old Cale.