COLONA, Ill. — A local fire official is being praised on the national stage for his work to reduce cancer risks among his fellow firefighters.
Colona Fire Chief John Swan was named the winner of the Chief James P. Seavey Sr. Health & Wellness Leadership Award by the National Volunteer Fire Council on Tuesday, March 12.
In a press release announcing the award winners, the NVFC credited Swan for starting the "Go Green Clean" program at the Colona Fire Department. In that program, firefighters used green cattle tags to identify gear that was clean and safe for firefighters to use, preventing anyone responding to a fire from using gear that hadn't been decontaminated after being used in a previous incident.
After the program was successfully implemented in Colona, Swan used his role as president of the Illinois Firefighters Association to bring Go Green Clean across the state. Since then, Go Green Clean has visited over 40 towns and given 94 free decontamination kits to fire departments. According to the IFA, the campaign has reached more than 100,000 people.
Swan will be recognized along with the other award winners at a ceremony on April 26 in Arlington, Virginia.
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