On October 28th, Chief Michael Stanley, of the City of Oshkosh Fire Department (OFD), received the Firefighter Hero Award from the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and MAGLITE®.

Chief Stanley was honored in a ceremony on October 28th by MAGLITE® and the NFFF for his leadership in addressing the root causes of falls among older adults. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among adults age 65 and older, and the age-adjusted fall death rate is increasing. The age-adjusted fall death rate is 64 deaths per 100,000 older adults. Fall death rates among adults age 65 and older increased about 30% from 2009 to 2018.”

According to Jennifer Skolaski, who consulted with Chief Stanley on a falls prevention initiative, “Based on a large increase in falls, we created a grant-funded community collaborative effort, under the direction of Chief Stanley, that aimed to understand how older adult falls could be prevented. Our multidisciplinary team conducted research to understand the experience and advice of older adults, services providers, and community change agents. Our results led to an action plan that only happened due to his leadership.”

“Chief Stanley represents the finest in fire service and service to the community. He has a passion for service,” said Oshkosh City Manager Mark Rohloff. “His work with fall prevention and helping people to live independent lifestyles is worthy of this recognition.”

Some of his other accomplishments have included: helping reopen the local homeless shelter during the pandemic; with community support, equipping firefighters with body armor; initiating a peer support team in the fire department to improve mental health; creating an agreement to create an intergovernmental agreement between six fire departments as needed for pandemic response; creating a multi-partner Recruitment Task Force of community stakeholders to improve diversity and inclusion within the fire department; as well as numerous initiatives to decrease the risk of cancer for firefighters and improve health and safety within the department.

“As a senior myself, I understand the importance of programs like this and appreciate Chief Stanley’s efforts to protect our elder citizens,” said Anthony Maglica, Founder and CEO of Mag Instrument Inc. “This is why we are committed to supporting this program and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. I am very happy to honor this true hero with this award and a donation to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation in his name which will be permanently displayed on a brick at the National Fallen Firefighters Walk of Honor®.”

The National Firefighter Hero program is a joint effort between MAGLITE® and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. The program periodically honors single firefighters, groups or whole departments for extraordinary commitment to upholding excellence in firefighting and related activities.

“Our partnership with MAGLITE® affords us the opportunity to acknowledge the great work done by firefighters and fire departments around the country to keep us all safe,” said Chief Ronald Siarnicki, Executive Director of the NFFF.

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