The Veterans of Foreign Wars selected Roanoke Fire and EMS Captain Peter Matthiessen as their ‘National Firefighter of the Year.’
Captain Matthiessen, who previously received the Firefighter of the Year award from the VFW Department of Virginia and the local VFW Post 1264 Firefighter of the Year award, was recognized for his exceptional dedication and contributions to the community.
Specifically, his contributions to organizing the annual Roanoke September 11 Memorial Stair Climb put him on the national map.
“Getting everyone together and celebrating that brotherhood and sisterhood has been really important and really powerful for me to witness,” Matthiessen said when talking about the annual event.
The fire captain is very humble when talking about the recognition, giving a lot of credit to the team he has alongside him.
“I really hope from this is, is that it brings recognition to the event and the events of 9/11. What we say every year is, ‘It’s the greatest act of heroism in the last century,” Matthiessen said.
Deputy Chief, Andy Foley, said Matthiessen’s impact in the community goes beyond the event.
“He’s dedicated. He’s a team player. He’s a mentor to a lot of our younger firefighters. It’s also good to see that somebody puts a lot of effort into such a good cause,” Foley said.
Under his leadership, the climb has raised $68,000 in the past three years alone, supporting the families of fallen firefighters and honoring their legacy.