A Penny For Your Thoughts

“You may never know when or where people may look to you as a role model.” Those were a father’s sage words to his son, now Master Technician Thomas J. Griffin of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, who was named 2004 Career Firefighter of the Year at a ceremony on Monday. Master Technician Griffin, a 24-year veteran of the fire service, is assigned to the Jefferson Fire Station 18 on Route 50 in Falls Church, in Mason District. In addition to his regular duties, Griffin is a rescue search specialist for Virginia Task Force One (VATF1), the renowned Fairfax County squad that has been deployed to search and rescue sites all over the world.

At Monday’s ceremony, Master Technician Griffin recalled that he didn’t start out to be a firefighter, but he did like to hang out with his buddies at the Great Falls Volun-teer Fire Department when he was growing up. A wise career fire captain there recog-nized his ability and suggested that he apply for the Fire Academy. It was the right move, Griffin noted, and he has never regretted his choice.

Fellow officers spoke about his compassion and commitment. One day, a rescue call came to Station 18 that a puppy was stranded in a flooded storm drain. Griffin was one of the responders and, after the stray German Shepherd puppy was rescued, everyone realized that there were two choices: turn the dog over to Animal Control where it might be adopted but most likely would be euthanized, or find a home for the dog right then. It was Master Technician Griffin who volunteered to take the dog home. “Stormy” still lives in the Griffin household!

His compassion was further evident when VATF1 was deployed to Turkey to assist in earthquake rescue efforts. Although the rescuers found no one still alive in a crumbled 10-story hotel, it was his quiet determination and profound compassion for other earthquake survivors and the desperate situation that caused the local Turkish newspaper to report that “the American rescuers really do care” about us.

Fairfax County Fire Chief Michael Neuhard, himself the 1992 Firefighter of the Year, presented Master Technician Griffin with a ceremonial firefighter’s helmet made of hand-tooled leather burnished to a golden reddish-brown. Until high-impact synthetics became state-of-the-art, fire helmets traditionally were made of leather. Joining to celebrate Griffin’s accomplishments were his wife, Brigette, a former police officer, son Robert and daughter Jennifer, and his parents.

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department established the Firefighter of the Year award in 1985 to honor a department member whose outstanding service and selfless dedication are in keeping with the highest traditions of the department. It is the most prestigious honor the department bestows upon one of its own.