From staff reports
During the Burton Fire District’s end of year banquet this past weekend, which was attended by past and present Burton firefighters along with their families, the 2025 Firefighter and Fire Officer of the Year, who were nominated by their peers, were announced.
The 2025 Burton Fire District Officer of the Year is Lieutenant Keith Kersey. Lt. Kersey was hired in 2023 and promoted to Lieutenant just a year later in July of 2024. His firefighters describe him as a dedicated professional who has not only set a standard for others to strive for but also works tirelessly to help them achieve it.
Through his exceptional leadership and abilities as an instructor, Lt. Kersey is continuously training those around him regardless of their experience levels which, according to his peers, has improved both firefighter safety and the services provided by the Burton Fire District to their citizens.
The 2025 Burton Fire District Firefighter of the Year is Engineer/EMT Mauricio Gallego who was also selected as the 2025 Burton Fire District Shift III Firefighter of the Year. Eng/EMT Gallego joined the Burton Fire District in 2020 and was selected by the students in his fire academy class to receive the Order of the Maltese Cross award, which is given to the student who best embodies the courage, integrity, and core values represented by the Maltese Cross, the symbol of the fire service.
Gallego, a retired U.S. Marine who served two tours in Afghanistan, was also selected as Burton’s Firefighter of the Year in 2021 and has been credited three times as being part of a crew that revived a person in cardiac arrest.
In addition, Engineer/EMTs Jake Woolsey and Chandler Parris were Selected as Burton Fire District Shift I and Shift II Firefighter of the Year respectively.
