Your vote on Facebook can help WFD earn a $10,000 donation
Williamston Fire Chief Steve Ellison has been selected as a finalist for Liberty Mutual Insurance’s National Firemark Award that recognizes local firefighters for valor and exceptional service in the community. From April 1st-20th, the public is invited to learn more about all nominees on Liberty Mutual’s Facebook page and vote for who they think is most deserving of the national award. The winners of the Liberty Mutual National Firemark Award will earn a $10,000 donation to their fire departments and a trip for four to Manhattan for a fun weekend.
Chief Ellison has served for 38 years as a volunteer fireman at the Williamston Fire Department and has been chief for 22 years. In his tenure as chief, Ellison has pioneered a program attended by over 600 high school students each year.
With the goal of keeping kids safe during prom season, students assemble on the football field and watch a reenactment of a DUI-related car crash complete with student and parent actors from the school, ambulances and a medevac helicopter.
Years ago, a fatal DUI incident occurred on prom night, and Ellison was moved to create this program with the goal of encouraging responsible behavior and eliminating future accidents.
The Liberty Mutual Firemark Award is presented annually to U.S. firefighters who best represent their communities through courageous valor and who best demonstrate the firefighter’s selfless spirit.
The award takes its name from the firemark, a leaden plate in the form of a Phoenix rising from the ashes, which American fire offices in the 18th and 19th centuries used to mark all the houses they insured.
The firemark stood as a guarantee to all fire brigades that the insurance company that insured the house in question would reward them for extinguishing a fire on the premises.
