April 8, 2002

PRESS RELEASE
To: Newsroom
For Immediate Release
Contact: Brian A. Crawford, Public Information Officer
Phone: 673-6652, cell: 455-2609, page: 675-2137

VFW to Present Fire Investigator with Firefighter of the Year Award

Shreveport Fire Department Investigator Captain Randy Stephens will be presented with the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ (VFW), Post 2238, Firefighter of the Year Award later this week.

Stephens is a 20-year veteran of the Department and is assigned to the Fire Prevention Bureau as a Fire Investigator and Bomb Technician.

As America began to recover from the events of September 11, the postal anthrax and bomb threat aftershock began to surface in the Shreveport area. Captain Stephens was one of the investigator/bomb technicians on assignment the week after September 11. During this period, Captain Stephens became the Department’s go-to-guy for called in threats. Stephens was presses into situations where he had to function as the First Responder, Incident Commander, and policy maker on a majority of these types of calls. Stephens worked closely with the Department’s Hazardous material Team, Shreveport Police, Regional Crime Lab, and the FBI to deal with the initial chaotic and confusing emergency response.

Throughout his career, Captain Stephens has approached his challenging occupation with enthusiasm, professionalism, and determination. Whether solving a difficult arson case, making an arrest, testifying in court, or handling an internal affair’s investigation, Stephens personifies the best of Arson Investigator/Bomb Technician of the United States. ###