SALEM, Ore. – The Office of the Oregon State Fire Marshal (OSFM) is excited to announce the 2021 Gold and Silver Sparky Award recipients. Every year the OSFM awards the Golden Sparky award to a fire service member and the Silver Sparky award to a public member for the contributions to fire prevention and fire safety.
This year's Golden Sparky was awarded to Firefighter John Rossi, a Public Information Officer with Mt. Angel Fire. Rossi's public information and education work has elevated the community and the region's fire prevention and preparedness efforts.
"He spends countless hours installing smoke alarms for those that need it the most," Oregon Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said. "John's commitment to his community and service to others shines through in his work through his tireless dedication to community prevention efforts.
Rossi has created a social media following that has allowed for great reach in the community to educate on various topics, including smoke alarms, defensible space, and burn bans.
This year, Kris Babbs, the president of Keep Oregon Green, was awarded the Silver Sparky. Keep Oregon Green is a non-profit that focuses on fire prevention across the state of Oregon. Babbs puts in countless hours and possesses a remarkable dedication to prevent fires across the state. In addition, Babbs leadership has elevated relationships among state and federal agencies. Her projects have brought OSFM and the fire service into the conversation and leveraged our programs and footprint in Oregon to further prevention and life safety.
"Oregon has never needed such an important leader in this space now and into our future," Ruiz-Temple said. "I want to thank Kris for being a friend to OSFM, the fire service, and for being a strong partner."
ABOUT THE SPARKY AWARDS
The Sparky Award is the highest award presented by the Office of the Oregon State Fire Marshal and been awarded to a member of the fire service and a member of the public every year since 1977. The award honors the efforts in fire prevention and fire safety education in the state of Oregon.
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