Genesee County's first female fire chief, Stephanie Call, was named Firefighter of the Year for the Stafford Fire Department at the department's annual awards and installation banquet Saturday night.
Matt Hendershott, who takes over as chief in 2020, praised Call for her hard work and dedication, her countless hours of service, often behind the scenes doing the administrative work necessary to keep the department running, as well as her leadership and inspiration.
He also singled out an incident at Call's place of employment in Le Roy on Dec. 15 when an employee collapsed. Call found the coworker unresponsive on the floor and began CPR. She stayed with her coworker until police and EMS arrived.
Hendershott quoted the victim, "My family sees Stephanie as the woman who saved my life."
Ken Collins received the Chief's Award for his service to the department.
Stafford fire responded to 289 calls in 2019, up 17 percent from 2018. The top responder was Hendershott, who went to 145 calls.
