FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW)- The West Florence Fire Department held its annual ladies night banquet and award ceremony on Friday night.
The banquet is focused on the family members and spouses Who support the West Florence firefighters. Several awards were handed out including the Firefighter Of The Year to Firefighter Bob Beverage. Firefighter Beverage is a retired veteran of the United States Air Force who volunteers his time with the West Florence Fire Department. The Department says Firefighter Beverage has proven to be a valuable asset to the agency taking on any task that is asked of him and exceeding any and all expectations. 
This year Firefighter Beverage is one of the top responders and has attended hundreds of hours of training conducted both by The West Florence fire department and the South Carolina Fire Academy.
The “Nozzleman” of the year award was given to firefighter Jermey Miller. This award is presented to the firefighter who has exceptional fire fighting abilities and shows great dedication to the department and the community that he serves. Firefighter Miller is a diesel mechanic at Truck Service of Florence and has been with the agency for two years. Firefighter Miller is currently certified South Carolina Firefighter II which is the culmination of 240 hours of training through the South Carolina Fire Academy.
A lifesaving award was given to battalion Chuef Dustin Fails for his actions during a medical call where he initiated CPR on a choking patient at a local Florence restaurant. His efforts resulted in the patient making a full recovery.
Overall the West Florence Fire Department has conducted over 3300 hours of training and has responded to almost 1200 calls in 2015.
