June 17, 2009, Canton, MI - Canton Fire Department held their 10th Annual Awards Ceremony on monday night. Approximately 35 firefighters along with a few of Canton’s dispatchers and police officers were recognized for outstanding service in the performance of their duties.

Firefighter of the Year was awarded to Firefighter Kevin Henderson. He was recognized for his contributions to the EMS program as well as several other specialized teams of which he is a member. Henderson was also recognized for his recent deployment to active duty with the Navy as a corpsman stationed in Germany for approximately one year. "Firefighter Henderson sets the bar very high for himself and deserves to be acknowledged for his efforts," stated Fire Chief Michael Rorabacher.

The department’s traditional Ironman award went to Firefighter Matthew Long for participating in 659 fire and EMS calls for service in 2008. Long remained thorough, conscientious, ambitious and enthusiastic while responding to more runs than any other firefighter last year.

"In an effort to be fiscally responsible, we were able to secure sponsorships from Accumed Billing Inc., Belfor Property Restoration and Rose’s restaurant in Canton," Rorabacher said. "We feel it is important to honor our employees who go above and beyond their everyday responsibilities, and these generous donations provided us with the opportunity to host this year’s event at no cost to the department," he added.

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