Firefighter honored

By Jennifer Huberdeau
Posted: 06/19/2009 03:03:38 AM EDT


Click photo to enlarge«1»North Adams Transcript

NORTH ADAMS -- A former city resident who used to travel along with the fire department photographing the blazes they battled has been named 2009 Firefighter of the Year by a Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Nashville, Ga.

Rick Pennock, who currently lives in Georgia and works as a firefighter in Ray City, Ga., was recently honored for "his outstanding dedication to the Ray City Fire Department."

"He has been working with the media such as CNN, WALB Channel 10, The Berrien Press and The Valdosta Daily Times in an effort to help the public gain a better understanding what firefighters face," Ray City Fire Chief Robert Mikell said in a release. "He has also held media nights that actually let TV news crews and reporters train along side firefighters to help give them a feel for how things work." He added, "During the Georgia wildfires in 2007, Pennock was not only on the front lines battling the intense fire, he also documented the conditions that firefighters were up against. His photographs were viewed nation wide and helped our firefighters gain additional support from departments in surrounding states."

While in North Adams, Pennock was well known by area firefighters, having developed a relationship that gave him access to fire scenes that isn’t normally granted.

"A classmate of mine, Bob Costine Jr., mentioned to me our senior year that he was going to job shadow at the North Adams Fire Department," Pennock



said in an e-mail. "He said I should come along with him. So it was arranged and the ball got rolling from there. I did some video taping for the NAFD in 1987 & 1988. With the help of former Transcript photographer Nick Mantello, I purchased my first 33mm camera and began taking photographs for the fire department. At first all I was doing was documenting events and learning my way around the camera. Nick was more or less my mentor with this."
Pennock eventually took a photography course through the New York Institute of Photography, a decision he says he’s never regretted.

"One week after I finished I was contacted by 1st Responder News and was offered to work as a correspondent covering fire department events in its New England Issue," he said. "Working for 1st Responder allowed me to continue to document activities at the NAFD."

In 2003, Pennock and his wife, Sara, moved to Georgia so she could be closer to her ailing parents. He became a member of the Ray City Fire Department and has since started three programs, one of which was directly inspired by the North Adams’ S.A.F.E Program.

"Another mentor I had was NAFD Firefighter David Simon," he said. "He was an extreme believer in the S.A.F.E program for kids. It is his work that inspired me to start one at the Ray City firehouse. I also have to give credit to the rest of the NAFD firefighters who shared their experiences with me." In addition to creating the S.A.F.E Program, Pennock also created the Emergency Team, or E-Team, which is activated when extremely bad weather threatens the area. He also developed the fire department’s first Web site, which provides information about the department, along with updates from various weather services and a section for the S.A.F.E. program to help parents teach their children about fire safety from home.

Pennock credits his success to the influence of retired city firefighter Edward Richer.

"He was like a second father to me," he said. "He pushed and supported me to get out there and make a difference in the world. Without him none of this would have ever happened."

Pennock is the son of the Dorothy and the late John F. Pennock. His mother still resides in North Adams.

To reach Jennifer Huberdeau, e-mail juhuberdeau@thetranscript.com.