Fire Safety Educator of the Year

 

For more than three decades, David Mortensen has been a driving force in fire prevention education within the Branchport Keuka Park Fire Department and throughout the Finger Lakes region.

A past chief and current chairman of the board of commissioners for the Branchport Keuka Park Fire District, Mortensen has dedicated his service to promoting fire safety
as a shared community responsibility.

He began leading organized fire safety programs in the early 1990s at Branchport Elementary School, where he became known to students as “Fireman Dave.”
His curriculum focused on home escape planning, smoke alarm awareness,
stay-low-and-go techniques and emergency response. These programs continue
to be delivered several times each year.

After the elementary school closed due to consolidation, Mortensen expanded the program into the Penn Yan Central School District, continuing instruction across district lines. With support from the department, including apparatus, educational materials and firefighter and EMS volunteers, he reinforced lessons through hands-on engagement.

Over time, Mortensen expanded outreach to homeschool groups, summer camps around Keuka Lake and schools within the local Mennonite community. He also introduced ice safety education focused on cold-water survival, ice thickness awareness and self-rescue skills tailored to regional hazards.

For more than 30 years, Mortensen has ensured fire prevention education remains active, evolving and accessible across generations.

Past Award Recipients

2024	James Alheim	Greenwich Fire Department
2023	Lt. Julie McKinnon	Hastings-on-Hudson Volunteer Fire Department
2022	Richard M. Nemier	Nedrow Volunteer Fire Department
2021	Edward Scharfberg	Oceanside Fire Department
2020	Robert Brewer	Lincoln Volunteer Fire Department
2019	Dean Smith	Barnard Fire Department
2018	Robert Sutton	Central Islip Fire Department
2017	Danny Dunn	Enterprise Hose Co. No. 1
2016	William J. Wren	New Hartford Fire Department
2015	Jennifer Cortese	Whitesboro Fire Department
2014	Aaron Cook	Johnsonville Volunteer Fire Co.
2013	Harry Prodromides	Lindenhurst Fire Department
2012	William C. “Billy” Schroeder	Lancaster Fire Department
2011	Chief Richard D. Tarello	South Farmingdale Fire Department
2010	Kenneth Clair Jr.	Brewster Fire Department
2009	Brian Niggli	Penfield Fire Company
2008	David Bowen	Vischer Ferry Volunteer Fire Company
2007	Donald P. Dalrymple	Valois, Logan & Hector Fire Company, Inc
2006	Jeffrey S. Burkhart	Oriskany Independent Fire and Hose Company
2005	Glenn Sickles	Scottsville Fire Department
2025	Maryann Laspada	Chatham Fire Department