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Gainesville honors firefighters, recognizes lifesaving responses and public praise
Summary
The council and city recognized multiple Gainesville Fire Department awards, including a Valor Award and lifesaving citations for Station 2 crews; public comments from the Newtown Forest Club also thanked officers for safety and escorting an MLK march.
The Gainesville Mayor and Council presented awards and recognitions Tuesday to members of the Gainesville Fire Department and heard public thanks from a local civic group.
Chief Brandon Ellis introduced several honors: Fire Officer of the Year (Ryan Stamey), Firefighter of the Year (Chris Fairholt), lifesaving awards for Station 2 A shift (Ivy Kennedy and Carson Harrell) and Station 2 C shift (multiple personnel), the Dan and Henry award to Mitch Stevens for long‑standing service, and a Valor Award to off‑duty firefighter Will Hubley for pulling a driver from a vehicle seconds before it burst into flames after a head‑on collision on Jan. 28, 2024. Chief Ellis said the lifesaving teams’ actions helped the patient receive a pacemaker and leave the hospital a few days later.
Introducing the Valor Award recipient, Chief Ellis read part of a media interview with Will Hubley in which Hubley was quoted: "it was just 1 of those things where I saw it, put it in park, and got to work." Council members praised the department for its emergency medical response and lifesaving work; one council member noted the hospital had credited first responders for the condition of patients on arrival.
During public comment, representatives of the Newtown Forest Club—Melody Hopkins, Courtney By Smith and Michelle Alexander—thanked city officers and the Gainesville Explorers for their support and escort during a recent Martin Luther King Jr. march. Melody Hopkins told the council, "actions speak louder than words," and said march organizers felt protected and unified by the police presence and the Explorers’ service as marshals.
The recognitions affirmed the council’s support for the fire department; no formal actions or funding decisions were taken at the meeting on these items.
