A member of the Walkerton Fire Department is being recognized for his service.
Captain Mike Loos was presented with the Harvey Gunnis Award which recognizes a dedicated firefighter in Bruce County.
Loos started his firefighting career in his hometown of Clifford in 1999 and also served as a volunteer firefighter in Saugeen Shores before signing up with Walkerton's department.
The award was presented to Loos at the Bruce County Firefighters Association meeting in Wiarton Thursday night.
But for Loos, it's not about personal recognition, it's about family and community.
"It is a huge time commitment. If you don't have the support of familty, it's not going to happen," says Loos.
As for changes, the job keeps evolving, he says.
"You have new standards coming in, you have required training that your own fire departments set the standards for. And there has been a huge evolution in training," says Loos.
The award is named after Harvey Gunnis, who was chief of the Wiarton Fire Department for 58 years. And it is acknowledged that he was the longest serving fire chief in Canada. Gunnis served up until the time of his death in 1984, at the age of 77. He received a number of Long Service Awards and the Silver Jubilee Medal.
