Noblesville’s Mike Carr was honored with the prestigious 2019 Indiana Firefighter of the Year Award during a private ceremony on Thursday with members of the Noblesville Fire Department and Mayor John Ditslear. Carr was voted by his peers in the fire prevention community for the award, but was unable to attend the annual Indiana Emergency Response Conference in Indianapolis when it was announced.
“Mike Carr has been a tenacious advocate of our active shooter program since he started building it over five years ago,” Noblesville Fire Chief Greg Wyant said. “He is well respected by our firefighters and our police officers for his expertise on the topic. I cannot think of a more fitting honor for him to receive.”
Carr serves as a Noblesville firefighter, as well as a tactical medic for the Noblesville Police Department. He has been instrumental in assessing the need for an active assailant response plan. He has worked to develop, implement and train members on the plan and the skills necessary to mitigate this type of incident. This includes putting in countless hours on and off duty working with multiple agencies and showing passion rarely seen in today’s fire service to better prepare the department and its members for these types of incidents.
Carr’s passion, dedication and leadership helped prepare NFD when they were called to Noblesville West Middle School on May 25, 2018. Carr’s work on the active assailant response continues as the department revises and improves its plan, training members on new EMS skills, and coordinating joint trainings with the police department to put the city in the best position to serve its citizens.
Upon receiving his award, Carr’s immediate reaction was to thank others for their work with the program and downplay his role in bettering public safety in the Noblesville community.
“I would like to thank Division Chief John O’Neal for the letter of recommendation and the rest of the fire administration and Mayor Ditslear for allowing and encouraging the development of the active assailant program,” said Carr. “I also want to thank firefighter Todd Watson, whose input and teaching skills have been a huge asset to this program and to the fire department. Finally, thank you to the fire crews for their flexibility and willingness to learn, give input and train for the betterment of the city we serve.”
The Indiana Emergency Response Conference honors the best and brightest among Indiana first responders and public safety officials at its annual awards.