PFD honors Waddles as Firefighter of the Year

Thelma Waddles was honored as Firefighter of the Year by the Plymouth Fire Department recently.

JANE ERNSBERGER/SDG NEWSPAPERS

promoted to the rank of lieutenant. They include Cal Redden, Chris Kelbley and Devon Ramey. Troy Baker was promoted to captain. Plymouth Fire Chief Rich Metzger said Thelma was “grandma” to everyone, victim or firefighter. Her decades of service did not go unnoticed or unappreciated. “She kept our heads above water when it came to EMS,” he recalled. In a nine year span, Thelma was at the fire house for 747 hours. She responded, Metzger noted, to 479 calls. In 2009, she was EMT of the year and served as an honorary firefighter after her retirement. She was a charter member Editor’s note: The Plymouth Fire Department honored its Firefighter of the Year and a retirement on Sunday, Feb. 14. This is the first of two stories. This one deals with Thelma Waddles’ award. The Plymouth Fire Department honored Thelma Waddles as the Firefighter of the Year. She passed away in December. Her award was accepted by her sons, Ed and Randy and granddaughter, Brooke Miller. Assistant Chief Jeff Redden retired at the end of 2020 from the fire department. He was also honored. “It’s been a year of challenges,” Metzger said. “We have never seen such unprecedented times, but we are all still here. “We’ve got a lot of challenges we will be facing,” he added. “We just don’t know what the future will bring.” Three firefighters were