Wood River City Council Meeting
WOOD RIVER – The Wood River Fire Department recognized Paid-on-Call Firefighter Jamie Wells as a 2024 Firefighter of the Year for his dedication to the important role at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
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Fire Chief Wade Stahlhut said each year, award winners are selected by their department peers for exemplifying the qualities of a firefighter, including bravery, dedication, selflessness, resilience, and more.
This year, the department added a Firefighter of the Year Award for its paid-on-call and part-time firefighters, with the 2024 award presented to Paid-on-Call Firefighter Jamie Wells.
Stahlhut noted that even with a full-time job aside from firefighting, Wells has shown commendable dedication to the role.
“This year’s second Firefighter of the Year Award goes to someone who has made a clear and impressive addition to our Fire Department many years ago,” Stahlhut said. “Jamie Wells has demonstrated extraordinary commitment, not only responding to emergencies at all hours of the day – knowing at times he needs to report to his primary job soon – but maintaining a high level of commitment to his training, mentoring fellow firefighters, and continuously striving for excellence with the desire to do more.”
Wells has served with the WRFD for nearly 18 years, having previously served with the Hartford Volunteer Fire Department for 12 years, as well as nearly 20 years with the Madison County Hazardous Materials Team.
In addition to his role as a Wood River firefighter, Wells is a husband and father of three who currently serves as President of the Wood River Firefighters Association. Wells also serves on the newly-formed Apparatus Committee and 2% Firefighter Tax Committee. For the past two years, he’s also served on the newly-organized Special Operations and Technical Rescue Team.
“Firefighter Wells, for approximately 20 years through his primary employer at Wood River Refinery, has also volunteered for their emergency response and incident management team,” Stahlhut added. “Firefighter Wells embodies the best of what it means to be a Wood River paid-on-call firefighter, and [is] a true asset to the city in that role.”
Stahlhut said Wells’ commitment and dedication are “second-to-none” as he consistently leads among the department’s paid-on-call firefighter in training and incident attendance every year.
“We are sincerely grateful for the continued effort of firefighter Jamie Wells,” Stahlhut concluded. “It is again my great honor and immense respect that I present the 2024 Paid-on-Call Firefighter of the Year Award to Jamie Wells.”
Stahlhut also spoke highly of his department as a whole, adding any of its exemplary employees would be worthy recipients of the award.
“For me, it’s an overwhelming feeling of pride and gratitude to be blessed with such an amazing group in the Fire Department that are truly committed to improving themselves every year and doing what it takes to provide the highest-level service to our great community," Stahlhut said.
A full recording of the Feb. 18, 2025 Wood River City Council meeting is available at the top of this story or on Riverbender.com/video.
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