Waterbury Fire Department bestows 2025 annual awards
Janaury 20, 2025 | By Lisa Scagliotti
Award recipients (left to right): Derrick Naugler, Kenny Ryan, Kyle Guyette, Randy Fisk Jr. Photos courtesy of the Waterbury Fire Dept.
Members of the Waterbury Fire Department gathered on Jan. 10 for their annual banquet and awards ceremony at the Main Street fire station.
Department officers each year name a junior, probationary and firefighter of the year. The firefighters select an officer of the year.
The awards honored members for their service in 2025:
Kenny Ryan as the 2025 Firefighter of the Year
Derrick Naugler as the 2025 Probationary Firefighter of the Year
Captain Kyle Guyette as the 2025 Officer of the Year
The Firefighter of the Year award is named after former department member and middle school teacher Amanda “Mandy” Morse who passed away in 2015. The distinction is given to the firefighter who has shown qualities of leadership, dedication, loyalty, productivity and professionalism.
Chief Gary Dillon said Ryan’s service in the past year stood out to the officers making the choice. He commended Ryan, who is known for his calm demeanor.
“When something needs to be done, he sees it and gets it done without asking or being asked. He is always willing to teach and explain things to anyone who has questions, while also asking how he could change or improve his own operations,” Dillon said.
Ryan was the department’s Probationary Firefighter of the Year in 2023.
Naugler’s award of Probationary Firefighter of the Year recognizes a member who is a relatively new addition to the department. It’s based on the criteria of dedication, productivity and professionalism.
“The officers were all in agreement on who it should be,” Dillon said.
Based at the Maple Street station in Waterbury Center, Naugler moved up to regular firefighter status in 2025, Dillon noted. Among his peers, he’s regarded for his positive outlook, being eager to learn and willing to do any task that’s needed. “I could not agree more. When we are at a call together, I have observed all these qualities,” Dillon said.
The department also marks service milestones for members. This year, Randy Fisk Jr. was recognized for 25 years with the department, earning him a spot in the Quarter Century Club.
Fisk joined the former Town of Waterbury Fire Department in November 2000, following in the footsteps of multiple family members, including his father, Dillon noted.
Fisk rose to the rank of lieutenant once Waterbury’s two former fire departments merged into today’s single agency. He also became an EMT with Waterbury Ambulance Service. Dillon said Fisk over the years has been eager to share his experience as the department grows.
“One of his best attributes was pulling new members aside and ensuring that they were understanding what was going on and providing additional leadership,” he said.
Firefighter Grant McCracken announced the choice of Guyette as the 2025 David Jennison Officer of the Year honor, as chosen by the firefighters and named for a former Waterbury fire chief.
McCracken described Guyette as a role model for all members who leads by example. The firefighters appreciate Guyette’s dedication as a leader when on emergency calls and also for his work and dedication behind the scenes to organize trainings, equipment service and many needed tasks, McCracken said.
“I came into this department not really knowing anyone, and certainly having no concept of what it means to be a volunteer firefighter,” said McCracken, who was the department’s 2022 Probationary Firefighter of the Year. He recalled working with Guyette on his first fire call for an alarm at Maxi’s Restaurant. “From that night on, I have looked up to Kyle and strived to be more like him every day,” he said.
Guyette also was named the 2022 Amanda “Mandy” Morse Firefighter of the Year.
60 years of service
Fire Chief Gary Dillon presents veteran Waterbury Fire Department member Robert Grace with a painting at the September 2025 celebration of Grace's 60 years of service. Courtesy photo
In a separate celebration in September, the Waterbury Fire Department honored veteran member Robert Grace for 60 years of service. Having joined the department in 1965, Grace has served in multiple roles from firefighter to captain, assistant chief and chief.
“Currently, there are only six people on the department who were even alive when Bob joined,” Dillon remarked at that event held at the Waterbury-Stowe Fish & Game Club.
The ceremony toasted Grace, whose decades-long tenure with the department spanned milestones including the village-town fire department merger, the writing of the department’s history, and 2011’s response to flooding from Tropical Storm Irene. Dillon, who joined the department in 1998, recalled riding along with Grace on an icy Interstate 89 and a very close encounter with the highway’s concrete jersey barriers. “I could not have asked for a better driver that night,” he said.
Grace’s experience is rooted in his calm demeanor, Dillon remarked. “During meetings, he listens to people. When he has something to offer, people listen to him,” he said.
The department presented Grace with a painting of the Main Street fire station and the firetruck that bears Grace’s name, titled “Legacy” and painted by local artist Courtney O’Brien, Grace’s great-niece.
Slideshow compiled by Amanda Guyette.