Captain Josh Becker named Firefighter of the Month for May

This May the St. Marys Fire Department is pleased to announce Josh Becker as its “Firefighter of the Month”.

Captain Josh Becker was selected as Firefighter of the Month for his 10 years of dedicated service to the department,” said Fire Chief Richard “Andy” Anderson. “Becker continues to come with high energy, a positive attitude and professional work ethic toward the volunteer job.”

Captain Josh Becker joined the St. Marys Fire Department as a firefighter in 2013. Before that he was a firefighter and Acting Captain with the Dashwood Fire Department.  Through the Fire Officer Program, he obtained Fire Service Instructor Level I and Fire Officer Level I accreditation. He was promoted to Lieutenant on September 1, 2019. Through further experience and dedication to the department he was promoted to Captain on February 1, 2023.

“Firefighters train to handle a seemingly endless variety of life-threatening incidents and scenarios,” says Captain Josh Becker. “Expectations of St. Marys Fire Department members are starkly higher than in some other volunteer departments, due to the fact of where we are located. We have Highway 7 outside of town with a lot of vehicle traffic, a large rural area surrounding us which provides unique challenges and various water courses that can prove to be demanding as the weather changes.”

The St. Marys firefighters provide 24-hour emergency services for incidents involving fire, motor vehicle collisions, ice and swift water rescue, out of control open air fires, medicals and lift assists to our community and neighbouring municipalities when called upon.

Captain Josh Becker says, “I would love to see more motorists take heed and pull over when they see the green flashing light on the firefighter's dashboard on their way to a call. Timing is everything when it comes to a fire or an accident.”

“A Fire Captain oversees a crew of firefighters on the fire ground," said Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Edwards. “Josh provides training, direction, supervision, and mentoring to help the firefighters stay safe while on the job. He possesses leadership skills that play an extremely important role at the scene of a fire.”

Josh grew up in Dashwood and lived there all his life until moving to St. Marys. He comes from a family heavily invested in fire services including his father who is currently Captain of the Dashwood Fire Department and will celebrate his 50th year of service later this year. His mother was also part of the service as a dispatcher for 15 years with the Dashwood Fire Department. Josh’s older brother is the Fire Chief of South Huron and his younger brother is a firefighter with the North Middlesex Volunteer Fire Department. He naturally became interested in becoming a firefighter at a young age as he admired the role and dedication of his father.

“My commitment for the job, not only comes from within but also with support from my wife, Sarah, and my two sons, Ben, and Jack. Everybody in the family must be on board with this lifestyle.” Says Josh.

Off duty, Josh dedicates his time to his family, is employed at the St. Marys Cement Plant as a Cement Packer and helps on the family farms. He is also involved with St. Marys Minor Hockey as a Head Coach for the U11 Rep Team.

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For media inquiries:
Richard “Andy” Anderson, Director of Emergency Services/Fire Chief
519-284-2340, ext. 201 | randerson@town.stmarys.on.ca