By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Several Shelby County law enforcement and firefighting agencies honored their own for helping to keep county residents safe during the annual Greater Shelby Chamber of Commerce safety awards luncheon on Oct. 31 at the Pelham Civic Complex.

During the lunch, officials with the Alabaster, Calera, Helena and Pelham police and fire departments, the Chelsea Citizens Observer Patrol and fire department, the North Shelby Fire and EMS, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and the Westover Fire Department named their officers and firefighters of the year.

Alabaster named Phil Harris its firefighter of the year for his work as the city’s fire inspector and named Tim Crocker and Brandon Green its police officers of the year for helping a soldier to visit his dying grandmother after his truck broke down on Interstate 65.

The Calera Fire Department named Luke Crim its firefighter of the year for serving with the department for nearly 30 years. The Calera Police Department named victims’ service officer Mitzie Wheat its officer of the year for her assistance to crime victims and involvement in Victims of Crime and Leniency.

The Chelsea COP named Patricia Hipps its volunteer of the year for helping to locate a missing person and the city’s fire department honored Chris Kizziah as its firefighter of the year for his work with grants and with the department’s Explorer program.

Helena named Chaed Agee its firefighter of the year for helping to secure more than $1 million in grants over the past four years, and named Michael Johnson its officer of the year for serving as a shift commander and for making several IT improvements at the department.

Pelham named Stephen Kiel and Shawn Massey its firefighters of the year for saving an unconscious woman from a burning house and named Mark Fridley its police officer of the year for treating a man injured in a hunting accident at Oak Mountain State Park.

The North Shelby Fire Department named Rusty Johnson its firefighter of the year for his 27 years of service with the department.

The SCSO named Sam Talton its deputy of the year for leading the investigation and helping to find the body of a missing Chelsea woman who killed earlier this year.

The Westover Fire Department, which had to leave the luncheon early to respond to an emergency call, named Michah Woodley its firefighter of the year.