Junior Firefighter Proves Essential to Department

Each week, Bridgewater Patch is seeking suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as the Patch Whiz Kid [or Kids].

Submit your nomination in our comment box below or e-mail it to audreyl@patch.com.

This week's Whiz Kid is....

Kyle Fernandes!

• Name and age: Kyle Fernandes, age 17
• Community Organization: Junior member of the Martinsville Volunteer Fire Department
• Accomplishment:  Kyle, while maintaining and continuing to excel in his school work at the , has found the time to join the Martinsville Volunteer Fire Department and thus help the community and the department in its purpose to "protect and preserve within the limits of its abilities the lives and property of the residents of Bridgewater Township Fire District #1 from injury, loss or destruction by fire."
• Key to Awesomeness: Kyle Fernandes joined the MVFD in July 2010, and, since that time, has actively participated in the fire department's drills, truck work details and fire calls. During the latter, Kyle has, as a Junior Member, assisted the fire department's members in their fire fighting by helping to bring equipment, including hoses and various fire fighting tools to the scene, and helped in the clean up at the scene and afterwards back at the fire station. Kyle is one of seven juniors and in the short period of time that he has been in the department, he has become a member that the more older members of the department look to and rely on to perform his assigned duties. He has become a very valuable member of the department. Kyle and his older brother, Justin—age 18 and thus a regular member—speak Portuguese fluently. At several fire call scenes, they have been able to speak to home residents or house keepers in their language and help us to find out where the fire call originated from and what caused the alarm activation. They have also been able to gather all the information that we need for our reports that, because of the language barrier, we would not have been able to get otherwise.
• Nominator: Robert Forsyth, chief engineer and secretary of the Martinsville Volunteer Fire Department