Late firefighter Jimmy Ellis left legacy of service
A longtime Western Pennsylvania firefighter who died in 2022 at the age of 49 left behind memories for his colleagues and a lasting legacy as a fire instructor.
Jimmy Ellis, who started his own firefighting journey at the age of 16, offered more than three decades of service to the field before his untimely death. A considerable portion of his career was dedicated toward fire training.
The local firefighting community honored Ellis by starting the annual Jimmy Ellis Training Weekend, partly with the goal of building new generations of firefighters. This year’s event brought in around 300 participants from 16 states.
“Every year, it’s gotten dramatically bigger,” said Jason Safreed, president of the Jimmy Ellis Firefighter Foundation and of the Adams Area Fire District while attending the fourth annual event in August. “We’re getting a broader reach and it's also progressed to be more streamlined.”
The event featured seminars and other speakers for participants on Friday and hands-on training opportunities on Saturday and Sunday. The hands-on training included lessons on rapid intervention, vehicle extraction and rope rescue.
“Jimmy was huge on training,” Safreed said. “It didn’t matter if you were new or had been in service for many years — he was all about training.”
Dave Moore, vice president of the Jimmy Ellis Foundation, called Ellis a “fireman’s fireman,” while attending the August training.
Outside of the training weekend, funds are raised to help firefighters with financial needs. Scholarships, equipment and financial aid are further available to fire departments that are struggling.
