CITY OF WATERTOWN, NEW YORK

FIRE DEPARTMENT

224 South Massey StreetWatertown, New York 13601(315) 785-7800Fax: (315) 785-7821Dale C. Herman, Fire Chief dherman@watertown-ny.gov

MEDIA RELEASE

The City of Watertown Fire Department announces the retirement of FireCaptain Patrick (Bill) Best, a 25 year veteran of the department. Bill joinedthe department on November 24, 1986, and completed his initial trainingwith classmates Kerry Doane and Paul Windover. During this initialtraining, the class of three assisted companies at two working structure fireson December 18, at 502 Academy Street and December 19 at 1309 AcademyStreet.During Fire Captain Best’s career as a firefighter, he was recognized for hisefforts at the Midtown Towers fire in December of 1989. He was assignedto the Department’s Fire Prevention Bureau where he assisted with theDepartment’s open house activities and became a certified fire investigator.On July 4, 1999, Fire Captain Best was promoted to his current rank and wasassigned as the Truck Company Officer on “C” platoon. During this tenure,Bill was recognized as the 2007 Firefighter of the Year by the AmericanLegion Post 61 for his efforts on May 2, 2006, where he actively participatedin removing a victim from a second floor smoke filled apartment via aladder.Bill’s last working day on the job is scheduled to be October 3, and he will be utilizing vacation time until his retirement date of October 12. FireCaptain Best, his wife and son will be moving to the State of Georgia to benearer family.