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Coral Springs honors firefighters and volunteers for competitions and international search-and-rescue deployment
Summary
Commissioners presented awards to the fire department's Rapid Intervention Team and named multiple department awardees; the commission also recognized seven members who deployed with Florida Task Force 2 to earthquake response in Venezuela.
The Coral Springs City Commission opened its Aug. 5 meeting with multiple recognitions for public-safety personnel and community volunteers.
Fire Chief Whelan detailed the Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) mission — a trained crew that responds to firefighters in peril — and congratulated the Coral Springs RIT for first-place results at the 2026 Palm Beach State Invitational RIT competition. Chief Whelan and commissioners presented awards for Fire Explorer of the Year (Peyton Moser), Fire Instructor of the Year (Carl Kellenberger), Civilian of the Year (Patty Walker), Supervisor of the Year (Capt. Raul Tito Torres) and Firefighter of the Year (Chase Calderaro). "We are very blessed to have the very best of all of them," the chief said.
The commission also recognized seven members who deployed with Florida Task Force 2 to Venezuela after June earthquakes (reported magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5). A rescue-team manager described an eight-day underground search that helped recover at least one trapped individual and spoke of international team cooperation. Mayor Brooke and commissioners thanked the team for representing the city and the fire service.
