Wiggins is Firefighter of YearNorthville Township 2020 Firefighter of the
Year Christopher Wiggins, left, is congratulated
by Fire Chief Matthew Samhat.
Northville Township Fire Department officials have named Christopher Wiggins as Firefighter of the Year for 2020. The 2020 awards were postponed because of COVID-19.
Wiggins, a firefighter/paramedic, was described as “the epitome of integrity, trust and respect. His ‘whatever it takes’ attitude is contagious to all who work with him. He is always quick to jump in and lead in training or on a call,” said department officials.
“He found creative ways during the pandemic for the firefighters on his shift to bond. With 16 years in the fire service, he has developed a great ability to demonstrate kindness and empathy to all of his patients while on emergency incidents,” officials added in a prepared statement.
Wiggins is credited for his tireless work in writing and winning grants on behalf of the department, “saving the taxpayers of Northville Township hundreds of thousands of dollars while improving the operations of our department.”
Wiggins represents the Northville Township Fire Department as a member of the Western Wayne County Urban Search and Rescue Team where he has dedicated countless hours to training to achieve Technician level and became an assistant team leader during his first year, the statement continued.
Wiggins joined the Northville Township Fire Department in July 2017 after serving with the Superior Township and Van Buren Fire departments.
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| Northville Township Police Officer of the Year James Beamish, left, receives congratulations from Chief Paul Tennies. |
The award was presented to Beamish earlier this month by Police Chief Paul Tennies in front of a large audience of first responders.
Tennies noted that Beamish has excelled in multiple positions throughout his career, beginning first as a dispatcher 32 years ago. After seven years in that role, he attended the Schoolcraft College Police Academy, fulfilling his dream to become a sworn police officer, following his father's footsteps.
During his career with the department, Beamish has been a member of the accident investigation team, served as the agency traffic enforcement officer, worked as a detective bureau where he became the first certified computer forensic investigator in the Northville Township Police Department. Tennies noted that Beamish also left his mark on the department as a field training officer, where Beamish trained new officers to ensure that the best practices standards and competencies were met. “As an evidence technician, he uses the latest techniques to collect and preserve evidence at crime scenes,” Tennies noted.
“Throughout his career, Officer Beamish executed these and many more responsibilities with pride and humility while upholding the Constitutional rights of all citizens,” Tennies said. “His institutional knowledge serves as a history lesson of where we were as an agency and how far we have come.”
