507th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
5/16/2014 - TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- A fire fighter with the 507th Civil Engineer Squadron here received the 2013 Air Force Reserve Command Military Fire Officer of the Year award May 4.
Colonel Brian S. Davis, 507th Air Refueling Wing commander, presented the award to Master Sgt. Michael D. Bilharz during the May commander's call. The award recognizes individual military fire officers in the rank of technical sergeant and above for superior job performance and outstanding contributions to the fire service.
Bilharz excelled during his six-month deployment and readily took on new leadership roles. He earned the wing's outstanding noncommissioned officer award due to his steadfast performance as station captain and promotion to assistant chief of fire prevention.
In the field, he commanded and monitored 24 emergency situations, safely evacuated all personnel following three suspicious package incidents, and investigated the cause of three fires decided how to best prevent a re-occurrence. He also assisted the city of Moore with disaster relief efforts following last year's EF5 tornado.
According to Gary Bird, city of Moore fire chief, Bilharz went above and beyond, putting the lives of others above his own. "We appreciate his efforts, but mostly his compassionate heart in our city's time of devastation."
This is the third major command-level award win for Bilharz. He was awarded AFRC's Firefighter of the Year in 2010 and Air Combat Command's Honor Guard Program Manager of the Year in 2006.
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