With over 50 years of continuous service as a volunteer firefighter, EMT and ambulance driver for Pacific County Fire District No. 4 in Naselle, Cliff Kilponen has received local praise. His level of recognition took a big jump recently when he learned he was named 2024 Firefighter of the Year by Washington State’s Department of the American Legion.

Each year, the 148 American Legion Posts within Washington and their 16,000-plus members are invited to submit nominations for awards such as Firefighter of the Year, Law Enforcement Officer of the Year, Paramedic of the Year and Humanitarian of the Year. The nominations are reviewed and awarded by the department’s Law and Order Committee.

From the statewide nominations received, Kilponen’s — submitted by Deep River’s Barr-Johnson-Hill American Legion Post 0111 — was deemed to be the most deserving of the honor. Kilponen will be formally recognized and presented with his plaque on July 12 during the American Legion Department Conference in Spokane. By then, he will be in his 52nd continuous year of service.

In part, the nomination noted: “Over the past 51 years, Kilponen has volunteered his time as a firefighter, an EMT and, in more recent years, ambulance driver for the Fire District. These are not passive volunteer positions. While responses to fires thankfully are much less frequent, last year there were 200 ambulance calls staged out of Fire District 4.”

Rural service

More than 96% of the land mass of Washington is non-urban. Much of that rural area is served by volunteer firefighters and EMTs. These individuals serve without pay, with greater distances to cover, lower budgets and often with antiquated equipment. Their motivation is not career or money, it is simply dedication to their communities and their fellow man. All too often, that dedication goes unrecognized except at the local level. Here is an individual who over more than half a century of service has provided an immeasurable number of hours of his life and responded to thousands of call outs to assist people in need.

Pacific County Fire District No. 4, located in Naselle, like virtually all rural fire districts in the state, is staffed by community volunteers. This is true community service, which demands a considerable amount of training time and willingness to respond on a moment’s notice.

District 4 serves the southeastern section of Pacific County comprising an area of just under 40 square miles and a widespread rural population of more than 600 residents, many of whom are senior citizens, in addition to tourists traveling through the jurisdiction.The district also provides assistance to Wahkiakum Fire District No. 3 in western Wahkiakum County.

In addition to fire calls, District 4 also provides responses to medical emergencies and ambulance service to area hospitals. The district always has a crew of at least two responders. They respond to a multitude of emergencies within seconds of receipt of calls for assistance.

The all-volunteer crew is comprised of trained individuals, including an EMT, at all times. The on-call crews work within two 12-hour shifts. The crews respond to emergencies no matter the time of day or situation to perform highly trained skills and provide the best care they can. They strive in every emergency to provide competent and compassionate care to meet the needs of this community.