Hamburg, N.Y. (WBEN) - Over the years at the Erie County Fair, it has been a tradition to honor local firefighters and their continued service for their respective communities across the county. This included the annual Firefighters Day at the fair, which included a massive parade through the fairgrounds to honor the different companies across the area.
In the months leading up to the 2022 Erie County Fair, it was announced that plans to honor firefighters at the fair were being altered, which included the elimination of the firefighters parade due to "security and liability concerns." However, in a statement from Erie County Fair CEO Jessica Underberg, she said new traditions were in the works to honor and express gratitude to all firefighters of Erie County.
What came of the change to tradition is a new way of honoring firefighters on a daily basis at the Erie County Fair: The Daily Firefighter Honoree.
"Every single day, we have a different honoree coming in, telling their story, a little bit about themselves, and what the history of them with their town is, why they're so important to their community and why they do what they do," said Olivia Carr, who helped put together this new tradition at the fair.
According to the Erie County Fair's website, the Daily Firefighter Honoree is presented to one firefighter of any rank, including Junior Firefighters, for each day of the fair. It will be a person who best exemplifies the positive characteristics of a member of the fire service, and who has a notable record of service and achievements.
"More than just years of service, or the sheer number of emergency responses participated in, or fire service organizations belonged to, this award is about quality, not just quantity," as said on the website. "It is presented to the individual who has given selflessly of their time and energy and made a real impact in support of those they serve and serve with, the fire department, the fire service in general and the community."
The application process opened up shortly after the announcement, and was open for anyone to file a nomination through July 20.
"With each of the volunteers, we were given a ton of applications, went through a selection process, chose that, and then chose 12 honorees to do a flag retreat ceremony, as well, from all different branches of the service," said Carr. "Each day, there's different ones, different females and males and their communities that we really just think embody everything about the fair and their community service, as well."
The nominees for the Daily Firefighter Honoree were evaluated with attention to the specific details, including dedication, loyalty, performance, professionalism and impact. All nominees were also required to be a current member of their department.
Some of the nominees that have and will be featured at the Erie County Fair this year will come from near-and-far across the county, and even a firefighter from Niagara County, whose impacts were felt in Erie County for years prior.
While Carr admits that the Firefighters Parade at the fair was always a fun tradition and a big day for local firefighters, it didn't feel like enough was being done to honor those who went above-and-beyond with their services.
"We really felt like having these 12 honorees meant something special, to have their stories and everything just brought to life, as well as kind of just changing things up with the fact that yes, we're kind of like growing out of the old parades because everybody throws them now and the honoring ceremonies, and we wanted to have something that was just kind of us," Carr explained.
As for what goes into the daily ceremonies for each Firefighter Honoree, Carr says they will get their chance to earn proper recognition.
"We'll give them plaques, giant memorabilia, they have free entry, anything to honor them throughout their day," she said.
While one firefighter will be highlighted every day, that doesn't stop the fair from honoring all firefighters as part of the "12 Best Days of Summer".
"At the [Fireman's] Building, there's just going to be a lot of history and facts. There's the guest sign in book for any firefighters to sign in there, so you can keep track of all that. It's mostly growing in the aspect of how everything in the fire halls have changed throughout the years," Carr said. "It's what we really want to keep up on, and grow the community a little bit more. There's not many firefighters left, so getting the young back into it and getting involved in the community is really big right now."
This new tradition has a little extra meaning for Carr, who also happens to be a volunteer firefighter. It began for her when her family moved into East Aurora and West Falls and joined the Volunteer Fire Company. Both her parents and older sister became firefighters and EMTs, while Carr started out as a junior firefighter, at the time.
"Throughout the years, they just became like my second family. Anything that had ever gone wrong, they'd always been there for me," Carr said. "They've just done so much for our communities, the unseen people in the background that we never really thought of, and sometimes they just aren't appreciated as much as I really think that they should. I've looked at them for so many years just knowing that they do so much more than people know.
"I think this is so much more powerful just in the fact that when I watch this, I see a lot more of their story being told than just a celebration going on."
More of our conversation with Carr is available in the player below:
