Also at the ceremony, North Charleston Fire Chief Gregory Bulanow unveiled the Fire Department’s new Mission, Vision, and Value Statements. Each statement was developed through committee work and questionnaires, thus giving the members of the department an opportunity to input ideas.
Chief Bulanow said, “Mission, vision and value statements are tools for communicating who we are, what we do and where we are going to all of our stakeholders in order to gain and maintain support within a strategic framework.”
North Charleston Fire Department Mission, Vision and Value Statements
Mission
To protect the quality of life in the City of North Charleston from all predictable hazards through prevention and emergency response.
Vision
To be a fire service leader as a diverse and cohesive team of professionals dedicated to providing service excellence in both proactive risk reduction and courageous, compassionate response to those in need.
We value:
Professionalism - We strive to uphold a professional image by the way we look, act and perform our jobs. We strive to further elevate the fire service as a profession through educational achievement, professional development and by contributing to the body of knowledge of the fire service.
Teamwork - We recognize that we must work together to achieve our mission by uniting individual specialties and the unique strengths of each of us to achieve our common goals.
Courage - In order to achieve worthy objectives, we willingly take calculated risks in the face of danger, difficulty, uncertainty or pain without being overcome by fear or being deflected from the course of action that our duties require.
Honor - We seek to act in accordance with the noble traditions of our profession. We honor those that have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty by constantly working to improve safety and service excellence. Dedication- We are committed to our mission, our department, each other and those we serve.
Respect - We strive to treat each other and those we serve with integrity, fairness, honesty and equality regardless of rank or status; always treating others the way we ourselves wish to be treated.
Compassion - We strive to achieve our mission because of our sympathy for those in distress and our desire to relieve their suffering.
Excellence - We strive to achieve and maintain the highest level of service through innovation, professional development and the continuous effort to improve.
2009 NCFD Award Recipients
Firefighter of the Year: Captain Donald Bowen
Selected from the year’s employees of the month, for his committee work involving off-duty time and his work with the recruit physical fitness program.
Rookie of the Year: Firefighter Paxton Parrish
Selected due to the abundance of personal time devoted to furthering his knowledge in all areas of the fire service through training and education.
Medal of Valor: Captain Gerald Kennedy and Firefighter Christopher Ward
Selected for the successful rescue of a civilian from a third floor apartment at a fire in January, 2009.
Administrative Staff Award: Assistant Chief John Nicholson
Selected for the many hours of personal time devoted to department functions and for other administrative accomplishments.
Distinguished Service Medal/Award:
Engineer Tim Howard - Selected for the successful rescue of a 21 month old child from a swimming pool while off-duty and performing life-saving rescue breaths to revive the child.
Engineer Eric Muench - Selected for successfully performing CPR on an adult choking victim while off-duty.
Battalion Chief John Whetsell - Selected for the successful rescue of a civilian entrapped in a burning car while off-duty.
Community Service Award: Captain Robbie Odom and Engineer Alkhabir Smith
Selected for their countless hours of personal time devoted to leading the Explorer program, a youth program for high school age youth interested in pursuing a career in the fire service.
