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Crescent City commemorated Steve Wakefield’s legacy Monday by honoring the battalion chiefs, division chiefs and assistant chiefs who kept Wakefield’s legacy of “service above self” going when their colleage was unable to.

Bill Gillespie, Crescent Fire and Rescue’s interim chief, recognized Darrin Short, Ray Rook, James Weiland, Joe Gregorio, Ryan Wakefield and Richard Wier, along with Steve Wakefield’s wife, “Fire Mom” Debra Wakefield, in a short ceremony before the City Council on Monday.

The city’s new police chief also recognized two individuals for their "service above self." Chief Richard Griffin on Monday presented residents Ty Batson and Doyle Larkin Sr. with certificates of commendation after they got three people out of an overturned vehicle on Nov. 4.

“You put yourself in danger to help someone you didn’t know,” Griffin told Batson and Larkin. “Thank you very much.”

During his presentation, Gillespie said Short, Rook, Weiland, Gregorio, Wakefield and Weir worked seven days a week for the fire department in addition to their own professional and family obligations following Steve Wakefield’s stroke in January 2018.

When Gillespie came on as interim fire chief, he said his battalion, division and assistant chiefs still worked more than three days each week, which equals to more than 6,000 hours on duty.

“Every call is answered,” he said. “When the tone goes off and the radio’s answered, 911 can say help is on the way. They respond day and night, whether it’s midday or midnight.”

Crescent Fire and Rescue personnel responded to 43 calls for service during last week’s storm, Gillespie told the City Council. There were also more than 30 colleagues Gregorio and other fire department members answered over the holiday weekend, Gillespie said.

Even when they’re not responding to toppled power lines or trees, Gillespie said, his duty chiefs are writing reports, coordinating resources, performing maintenance on a broken down vehicle.

“They truly do epitomize the ‘service above self’ legacy Chief Steve Wakefield has instilled in this department and in this community,” Gillespie said.

Wakefield volunteered with Crescent Fire and Rescue for 42 years, serving 23 years as its fire chief. A series of strokes that started in January 2018 forced Wakefield to retire. Wakefield died on April 26, 2019.

In a proclamation last year, the Crescent City Council declared Dec. 3 “Steve Wakefield Day,” according to Mayor Blake Inscore. The Council wanted to recognize others who have the same dedication to service Wakefield did, Inscore said.

Following Gillespie’s presentation, Griffin told the City Council how he responded to Pebble Beach Drive and 9th Street on Nov. 4 after receiving a call for an overturned vehicle.

When he got there, Griffin said, a mother and two children were standing outside of the vehicle and he found a man sitting on the ground panicking.

“He was a bystander who ran to that overturned vehicle and utilized his roommate’s knife and with both of them, they were able to extricate the victims of the vehicle roll over, get them out of there and get them to safety,” Griffin said. “The concrete barrier basically saved the vehicle from going over down into the ocean. I was very impressed by this. It’s not something an every day citizen would do, so it definitely needed recognition.”

Griffin also recognized Officer James Wright, who served 11 years and 5 months with the Crescent City Police Department and is moving to his hometown of Federal Heights, Colorado. Including his time with the Crescent City Police Department, Wright has been a law enforcement officer for about 32 years, Griffin said.

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