OR&W Fire District swears in 10 firefighters

Shadyside, OHIO (WTRF) – It was an eventful evening Wednesday at OR&W Fire District in Shadyside, as ten firefighters were officially sworn in.

Fire Chief R.C. Fellows says one of the reasons this ceremony took so long to prepare was because they needed to get everyone’s dress uniforms in, and by the time that happened, more firefighters had joined the force.

Rather than having multiple events, it was all consolidated into this one.

Fellows says there is a lot of meaning and tradition behind the uniform.

“We did our swearing in of our full time firefighters. It’s where we make them take their oath and then their family pins their badge on them. It’s great to get our families all together anyways. We try to create a family atmosphere, and this helps create that atmosphere. You know, we put the patch closest to our heart because that way our organization’s close to our heart.”

Fire Chief R.C. Fellows – OR&W Fire District

Fellows went on to say they usually don their uniforms during sad occasions, but this ceremony was not one of them.

The individuals sworn in include:

Firefighter Keene Barnett, Firefighter Jacob Greenwood, Firefighter Chris Kirkpatrick, Firefighter Ian Eller, Firefighter Jay Kovalo, Firefighter Bill Nieman, Lieutenant Roger Palmer, Lieutenant Josh Cooper, Assistant Chief Chris Wiles and Fire Chief R.C. Fellows.

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