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NEW LENOX FIREFIGHTER/EMT Dan Malone accepted the good wishes and congratulations of Chief Jon Mead after being named Firefighter of the Year. photo by Karen Haave
Malone named 'Firefighter of the Year'  Share
New Lenox Firefighter/EMT Dan Malone didn't really plan to become a first responder, but once he made the commitment, he also made doing the job well his top priority. His effort is the kind that doesn't go unnoticed by his colleagues and superiors, so it came as no surprise to anyone in the New Lenox Fire Department when he was named Firefighter of the Year. NLFD officials said ''many well-qualified firefighters were nominated by their officers, but Dan received an overwhelming majority of nominations for his willingness to go the extra mile and for his dedication to teaching the district operations to our new members.'' ''I feel honored to be recognized by my colleagues this way, because there are a bunch of good, hardworking firefighters here, and for them to vote for me, it feels good,'' Malone said. Asked why he thought his fire department colleagues would single him out for the award, Malone said he didn't think it was for just one incident.
''I think it's from all the call-backs I came from home for,'' he said. ''If the fire department had multiple calls going and they needed manpower to fill the station, I was there, no matter what time of day or night. If there was a fire, no matter what day or time, I was there. I think that's the biggest reason why.'' Asked why he became a firefighter six years ago, Malone grinned, ''Funny question! I never really planned on being a firefighter. One day, I was out with one of my friends who is and was a firefighter, and he asked me if I wanted to get into a fire academy. I thought about it and said, 'Yeah, why not?' So a few weeks later, I was in the Dolton Fire Department's Fire Academy.'' An Oak Forest native, he also lived in Lemont, where he went to high school. He completed fire training at Dolton Fire Department and EMT training at South Suburban Hospital. ''It's the best job in the world, no doubt! The best part of the job is to be there for the community,'' he said, ''to help them with whatever they may need us for.'' Malone is married and the father of three: daughter, Tori, (''the Boss''), age 4, and one-year-old twin sons Colin and Evan. His wife, Michelle, he quipped, is ''Second in Charge,'' after Tori! The family has lived in New Lenox since 2006. Karen Haave is a reporter for Russell Publications.
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