FIREFIGHTER OF THE YEAR JAKE VANSICKLER

Jake started with Gulf Shores Fire Rescue almost nine years ago, on March 13th, 2014. Since his hire, Jake has been a leading example of a young firefighter and a public servant. Before becoming a firefighter, Jake was a lifeguard on our beaches, igniting his passion for helping others. Not long after Jake graduated from recruit school near the top of his class, he sought ways to help his community further. Nothing could accomplish that more significantly than going to paramedic school, which is a 2-year endeavor in itself. Jake has found a real passion in EMS. He was assigned to the EMS committee responsible for overseeing all of the training and QA for our department under the guidance of the EMS Officer. The next personal goal for Jake was to be a member of the Gulf Shores SWAT Medic team, which requires a tremendous amount of training, and obtain an additional National Registered Tactical Paramedic License, once again proving his commitment to the citizens of Gulf Shores. Recently we created Field Training Officers within our EMS Division, and Jake was one of the first to volunteer and is doing a tremendous job. Just this year, Jake was tasked with being an acting officer on a fire truck, where he more than stepped up to the challenge. Jake embraced the responsibility, ensuring his crew was trained both mentally and physically. He poured into every crew member, encouraging them to constantly push to be their best. As if this weren’t enough, Jake works on his off days as a beach supervisor for the City of Orange beach, keeping his kills sharp as a certified USLA lifeguard. I guess you could say that Jake’s accomplishments are a body of work to public service throughout his career from start to present, all the more reason Jake VanSickler was nominated by his peers to be awarded the Firefighter of the Year for 2022.

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