Comox Fire Rescue held its annual Awards Night on Saturday, November 22, 2025. The department continued its tradition of recognizing members for various contributions to the local fire department.
Lieutenant Sandy Pridmore and Captain Corey Brooks were presented with their federal 30-year medals. Other award recipients included Noah James and Hans Huggler, who were both honoured for “Rookies of the Year". Firefighter, Todd Fyfe and Lieutenant, Orod Farbod, were awarded the “Firefighter of the Year”. The “I Made a Difference” Steward Rennie Memorial Award went to firefighter Tammy Blair. The “Kevin Kimler Memorial Award” titled “Above and Beyond” went to firefighter Giovanni Vanzzini.
The department also gave special recognition to Assistant Chiefs Rick Shelton and Jim Lariviere, who will be retiring at the end of 2025. Together, they have served 25 years full-time and 42 and 32 years respectively with Comox Fire Rescue.
“I’m so proud of all our members,” said Comox Fire Chief Gord Schreiner. “It takes a very special person to volunteer for anything - let alone to be a firefighter- and an even a more special person to serve for many, many years. We expect an extremely high level of training and professionalism, and we’re fortunate to have such an exceptional group serving the community.”
Comox Fire Rescue has six full-time and 50 highly trained part-time members. They provide most of the services typical of a larger fire department and will respond to over 900 emergency incidents this year.
For more information about Comox Fire Rescue and the team, visit comoxfirerescue.org
Comox Fire Rescue provides a variety of preventive and emergency services to a population of approximately 23,000 in an area of 16 square miles. This includes the Town of Comox, the Comox Fire Protection Improvement District, the K’ómoks First Nation, and the Bates Huband Local Service Area.
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Media Contact:
Gord Schreiner, Fire Chief
firehall@comox.ca
250-339-2432
