Willingboro Fire Department, along with many other guests celebrated the career of Captain Doug Ramsey on Monday, August 2nd at noon.

Captain Ramsey's Bio:

Doug has spent over 28 years of dedicated service with the Willingboro Fire Department. Doug is married to his wife of 31 years, Renee, and has two daughters, Katie and Stephanie, and a granddaughter, Piper. Doug was born in Beaufort, SC. Doug’s parents returned to Willingboro Township after his father retired from the United States Marine Corps in 1975.

Doug and Renee became homeowners in 1988 and decided to make Willingboro Township their hometown for the next ten years. Doug was recruited to join the Willingboro Fire Department by his neighbor, Dan String. As history goes, his wife made a bet with Dan that Doug would join, Dan said he would not; ultimately, Renee won the bet. In September of 1992, the bet was paid in full, and Doug joined as a volunteer firefighter. He continued to be highly active in the Fire Department, as well as, the Willingboro Volunteer Fire Company, where he served time as the Secretary and Willingboro Relief Association, where he served as the Secretary, Vice-President and ultimately President. During his time with the fire company Doug received many awards and recognition for his service.

A few of the awards presented to Doug were:
• Life Saving Award
• Meritorious Award for Actions Above and Beyond
• Life Saving Unit Citations
• Holmatro Gold Pin Recipient for Extrication of a victim

In June of 1996, Doug stepped down as a volunteer Lieutenant and was hired as the fourth full-time firefighter for the Township of Willingboro. He brought with him his knowledge of automobiles and trucks and this knowledge proved to be invaluable in saving time and money with vehicle repairs. Doug continued with his education and attained certifications an EMT, Fire Inspector, Fire Official, Fire Service Instructor Level II, Incident Management Level III, Active Shooter Incident Management, and other various training programs.

In September of 2003 Doug was promoted to the rank of Fire Captain. During the next 18 years he oversaw the Fire Prevention program, Fleet Maintenance, and Training Division. He assisted the Fire Chief with management of personnel of assigned platoons. This included the development of policies and assisted with budget recommendations. He also served on two truck committees, and Chairperson of one of them. In June of this year, he completed his twenty-fifth year of full-time employment.

Everyone in attendance wish Captain Ramsey and his family a healthy happy retirement!!