Fire Department picks employees of the year
Advertiser Staff
Battalion Chief Kenneth Silva, firefighter Mark Yeager and Sheryl Nakama were honored yesterday as the Honolulu Fire Department's top manager and employees at the annual 200 Club luncheon, held at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser
Silva, 41, is a 19-year veteran who has been battalion chief for four years.
Clerk Sheryl Nakama receives an award for Civilian Employee of the Year from Fire Chief Attilio Leonardi at a luncheon at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
As head of the Fire Prevention Bureau, Silva has helped to implement amendments to the 1997 Uniform Fire Code, which will soon be adopted as the State Fire Code, and coordinated the department's efforts to pass a high-rise retrofit ordinance.
A graduate of Kamehameha Schools, Silva holds a business degree from the University of Hawai'i and will earn his master's degree in public administration in December.
Yeager, 39, is a Fire Fighter III assigned to the Ka'a'awa station. A nine-year veteran, he recently was honored as the state's Public Safety Emergency Medical Services First Responder of the Year. In his off-duty time the Kahuku High graduate organizes infant CPR/child safety training programs for community groups.
Silva and Yeager both played key roles at the May 1999 Sacred Falls tragedy. Silva was the incident commander; Yeager and Joel Walker of the Hau'ula Fire Station were the first to reach victims at Sacred Falls.
Nakama, a senior clerk typist, was honored as Civilian Employee of the Year. She reviews about 25,000 fire reports a year and processes more than 500 requests for the reports from the public and other agencies. She also manages the department's Aloha United Way campaign.
The department also showed a short video marking its 150th anniversary.
