'I just do my part:' Wooster Township FD chief is Ohio Fire Officer of the Year

WOOSTER TWP. − Dallas Terrell, a firefighting veteran and leader of the Wayne County fire and paramedic communities, received the 2023 Ohio Fire Officer of the Year award.

Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of State Fire Marshal and the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Division of EMS awarded Terrell, chief of the Wooster Township Fire Department, the honor in late April.

Honoring the fallen: Town & County firefighter Lt. Wigal to be memorialized at Maryland event

"I am very humbled and blessed to have worked with the people at the Wayne County Regional Training Facility," he said.

The award honors fire officers who showed outstanding work in their community.

Hard work in a hard year

This comes after a tragic 2022, which saw three Wayne County fire community members die in roughly three days, said South Central Fire District Chief Josh Martel.

In April of last year, Town & Country Fire District Lt. Philip Wigal, Wayne County Regional Training Facility Executive Director Erica Springer and a young firefighter died in unrelated circumstances.

"(Terrell) made sure the departments had what they needed, and he was there to talk," Martel said. "He covered our stations when we were out."

Remebering Springer: 'Big shoes to fill': Wayne County Regional Training Facility mourns Erica Springer's death

For Wooster Fire Department Assistant Chief Eric Roque, Terrell is always ready to help anyone under his command or in nearby departments and communities.

"I really sense compassion from him," Roque said.

The events of 2022 allowed the various fire departments to come together, Terrell said.

"We help each other, that's what we do anytime a tragic event occurs," he said.

Over two decades of experience

Terrell has been a key member of the firefighting community since he joined the Wooster Township Fire Department on a volunteer basis in 2001.

Four years later he became a full-time firefighter and paramedic before being promoted to lieutenant in 2015.

During that time, Terrell was a fire instructor at the Wayne County Regional Training Facility in near Apple Creek.

Around the time he became lieutenant, he was named the training facility's executive director, a position he held until 2021 when he accepted the role of Wooster Township fire chief.

"I just do my part," Terrell said. "We have a great group of EMTs and firefighters."

Among his goals since starting at the training facility and now as fire chief is to help everyone grow their skillsets and further their education.

Seeing a firefighter or paramedic thrives is what makes his job worth it, he said.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Wooster Township Fire chief named Ohio Fire Officer of Year