Noblesville Fire Chief Greg Wyant was honored by his peers in the fire prevention community Friday evening with the prestigious 2019 Fire Chief of the Year Award at the annual Indiana Emergency Response Conference in Indianapolis.
“I am honored and humbled to have received this recognition from the Indiana Fire Chiefs. I could not be more grateful to city administration and my staff for secretly coordinating the evening which included my family,” Wyant said.
Wyant began his service with NFD in 1994 and has served as an administrator since 2004. In his tenure with the department, Wyant has been a firefighter, lieutenant, captain, division chief, assistant chief and fire chief.
During his time at NFD, Wyant has strongly advocated for firefighters as well as the department, championing improvements and issues that impact firefighters’ safety and health – especially the research he conducted on cancer risks among firefighters and the resulting initiatives established within the fire industry to help lower the cancer risk among firefighters. His research on firefighter exposure to harmful carcinogenic airborne products after a fire was published in the International Fire Service Journal of Leadership and Management and led to the creation of safer operating procedures where firefighters wear self-contained breathing apparatus throughout a fire incident, including the period of time immediately after the fire is extinguished.
“This was more than a policy change, it was a cultural change and NFD led the way,” said Mayor John Ditslear. “Noblesville was one of the first departments in the area to start implementing this and many departments still don’t have or enforce policies on this protection type. There is no doubt that this has reduced the health risks for an entire generation of NFD firefighters and will continue to benefit us in the future.”
“The greater reward for this research will hopefully reveal itself in the years ahead when our firefighters exhibit lower cancer rates than the industry trend. This policy change is just one of many actions the fire service is embracing to reverse the cancer trends,” Wyant said.
Wyant has served as Noblesville’s Fire Chief since 2015. His belief of fire prevention and education led Noblesville to host 171 community education events, provide nearly 100 smoke detectors to residents, install 25 smoke detectors and hold fire training for local businesses in 2018.
During his NFD career, Wyant was appointed by Governor Mitch Daniels and reappointed by Governors Mike Pence and Eric Holcomb to serve on the Indiana Board of Firefighting Personnel Standards and Education, where he also served as the board’s chairman for five years. He graduated from the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program and is a graduate and past president of the Hamilton County Leadership Academy. Prior to his employment with NFD, Wyant served six years in the United States Navy.
“For all the qualities that have made Chief Wyant an outstanding public servant, his leadership has brought about significant accomplishments. He serves our community with integrity, courage and exemplifies the level of distinguished service of this deserving award,” Ditslear said.
Zionsville’s James VanGorder was also named Fire Chief of the Year Friday evening. The Indiana Emergency Response Conference honors the best and brightest among Indiana first responders and public safety officials at its annual awards. The IERC serves as the annual gathering for firefighters, emergency medical services, law enforcement, emergency management agencies, hazardous materials professionals, special operations personnel and telecommunicators. It includes educational sessions, innovative presentations and discussions about some of the most pressing issues facing the emergency response community in Indiana.