Alva Review-Courier -

During the Oklahoma Emergency Management Association convention Wednesday, Woods County Emergency Manager Ethan Feidler was named Oklahoma's Paid Emergency Director of the year.

"Whether it is a fellow emergency manager, the local fire departments, county employees, the health department, the public schools, the university, or career technology center, dispatch, the hospital, the nursing homes, or the citizens of our county – we all count on Ethan Feidler," stated the application for the award. "Ethan is our 'go-to' person not only in Woods County and Northwest Oklahoma but throughout the state."

The application lists many of the ways Feidler has worked for Woods County and the area. "Ethan took the lead on communications training for the Northwest emergency managers. He updated communications equipment in Woods County, including the addition of a new communications tower and he moved a repeater to improve the radio coverage in Woods County from 60% to 90%. Ethan is coordinating with the City of Alva to upgrade their communications to digital radios and repeaters to improve radio communications. He also is helping coordinate Grant and Harper County 911 operations and is helping them improve their radio infrastructure needs.

"Ethan has completed his COM-T (Communications Technician Certification) training and is working on his task book to complete his certification. He is also working on updating the Northwest Oklahoma Communications Plan so interoperability between all agencies during an incident can take place. Ethan is also overseeing communications equipment for the Department of Homeland Security.

"Ethan is Chairman of the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) for Woods County and organizes, advertises, schedules speakers, arranges for meals, and facilitates all these meetings. Ethan schedules safety training and NIMS Compliance training for all Woods County employees. In addition, Ethan has taken on scheduling all training for the six fire departments (Alva, Capron, Dacoma, Freedom, Greenleaf, and Waynoka) in Woods County.

"Ethan has secured much needed equipment for Woods County. Ethan secured Self-Contained Breathing Apparatuses (SCBAs) for volunteer fire departments in Woods County which did not have SCBAs. He obtained safety cones and a trailer to transport them for use during incidents, for directing traffic when setting up immunization pods, and for use in Emergency Vehicle Operators Courses. Ethan also coordinated getting Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for all the fire departments in Woods County.

"Ethan has programmed all the trucks, radios, and equipment the same way at each department, so they are interchangeable. This provides familiarity and ease of use should a firefighter have to use another fire department's equipment. Ethan also provides Information Technology (IT) for the Woods County Courthouse and oversees all radio maintenance and dispatch.

"Ethan also serves on Northwest Technology Center's Quality Review Board for their National Incident Management System (NIMS) Compliance, serves on the Region 1 Medical Emergency Response Center (MERC) Executive Board, and serves as the Oklahoma Emergency Management Association NW Alternate Area Vice President. In addition, Ethan coordinates the Woods County Task Force."