GIRARDVILLE -- Girardville's fire chief Frank Zangari just received an award from the National Fire Protection Association.
Over the course of his 45 years as a firefighter, he Zangari said educating the community about fire prevention is the most rewarding part of his job. He spends a lot of his time installing smoke alarms with WNEP's Operation Save a Life and working with children and the elderly. His passion for fire prevention education has led him to win a big-time award from the National Fire Protection Association.
"It's the stuff that happens between those calls that makes it exciting and makes you want to come back tomorrow and do it all over again," Zangari said.
He's one of 12 people across the country recognized for their contributions to their communities. He has been invited to a convention with his fellow recipients.
"Fire prevention, that's the name of the game," Zangari said. "That's what we want to do. We want to prevent fires. We want to prevent property loss and certainly want to prevent loss of life."
His colleagues are happy about his award.
"It's all about fire prevention for Frank and this award coming to Frank means a lot to us in Schuylkill County, probably more than he knows," Pottsville Fire Chief James Misstishin said.
The chief heads to his conference in Las Vegas in June. He plans to bring everything he learns there back with him to Schuylkill County.