Chiefs from Texas and Virginia Named IAFC Fire Chiefs of the Year

Fairfax, Va. – The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and Pierce Manufacturing today announced the 2015 winners of the annual IAFC Fire Chief of the Year awards at Fire-Rescue International. Volunteer Fire Chief Dr. Charles Addington II, of Wolfforth (Texas) Fire & EMS, and career Fire Chief Dan Eggleston, of the Albemarle County (Virginia) Department of Fire Rescue, are this year’s recipients.

Every year, winners selected by an IAFC-appointed committee are honored for their dedication and leadership in fire and emergency services. Sponsored by Pierce, the 20th annual awards will be presented Aug. 27 during the general session of Fire-Rescue International 2015, the IAFC’s annual conference and exhibits, in Atlanta, Georgia.

“With these awards, we recognize the accomplishments and leadership of Chief Dan Eggleston and Chief Charles Addington as well as their contributions to their departments and communities and the fire service,” said Jim Johnson, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president of the Fire & Emergency segment and Pierce Manufacturing. “Pierce is honored to again participate in this important event; we are happy to join with the fire service to pay tribute to these remarkable leaders.”

Career Fire Chief Honoree – Dan Eggleston, Albemarle County (Virginia) Department of Fire-Rescue

Chief Dan Eggleston exemplifies the consummate fire service professional committed to excellence. His leadership and service with Albemarle County can best be described as the ongoing exploration and implementation of best practices. He has contributed to the fire service in myriad ways—including teaching and publishing—at the local, regional, national and international level.

His service has demonstrated a dedication to other fire service professionals as well as to the recruitment of a new generation of such professionals. For the last 13 years, Eggleston has served as fire-rescue chief for the historic Virginia County of Albemarle, overseeing 14 fire rescue stations and 750 career and volunteer personnel of this combination department. Under Chief Eggleston’s leadership, a collective of volunteer and combination departments has been unified into a high-performing combination career/volunteer fire rescue system that provides cost-effective, comprehensive public-safety services to the county’s diverse population of approximately 100,000 residents in an area of 726 square miles.

Automatic- and mutual-aid agreements with surrounding jurisdictions, state and federal agencies and private partners have been established under the chief’s direction, as have career and professional development initiatives. Chief Eggleston’s work as a board member of the IAFC since 2013 and as a board member of its Volunteer & Combination Officers Section (VCOS) since 2007 illustrates his comprehensive contribution to the fire service.

Just one example of that work is Chief Eggleston’s facilitation of the Firefighter Cancer Support Network Summit that resulted in the 2013 publication of “Taking Action Against Cancer in the Fire Service,” a white paper dedicated to reducing the incidence of cancer in firefighters.

Chief Eggleston’s 37-year tenure with the fire service in Virginia includes his service as fire chief/emergency manager for the city of Franklin and, before that, his 20 years of service with the Chesterfield (Va.) Fire Department, where he began his fire service career as a firefighter in 1978. Chief Eggleston recently assisted Phillips Station 13 of the Chesterfield Fire Department with successfully obtaining a FEMA grant for a new fire engine.

Volunteer Fire Chief Honoree – Dr. Charles Addington II of Wolfforth (Texas) Fire & EMS

The accomplishments of Chief Charles Addington II reflect a unique individual whose career is epitomized by excellence and a drive to serve his community, region and state as a fire chief, physician, medical director, mayor, teacher and businessman. He joined Wolfforth Fire and EMS in 1996. He is currently in his 20th year with the department and 15th as its fire chief.

A member of the Wolfforth Fire Department since 1996, Dr. Addington was named its Firefighter of the Year in 2001. He is the chief of the Wolfforth Fire Academy, which trains 60+ students each year using the curriculum of the Texas Commission on Fire Protection. Chief Addington is also a member of the IAFC, the Texas Association of Fire Chiefs and the Texas State Firefighters’ and Fire Marshals’ Association–EMS Advisory Board, as well as many other professional medical organizations.

In 2012, Chief Addington completed the four-year National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program in two and one-half years. He has also completed the Texas A&M Fire Service Chief Executive Officer course.