Nolensville welcomes new firefighters as municipal combination department begins service

The Town of Nolensville recognized a milestone in the history of the town with a pinning ceremony for Nolensville’s new firefighters who now represent Nolensville Fire and Rescue, the town’s first municipal fire service, during Thursday night’s Nolensville Board of Commissioners meeting.

The nine full-time, career firefighters were joined by members of their families who pinned their badges onto their uniforms, before posing for a group photograph with the commissioners.

Those firefighters that took part in the pinning ceremony included Capt. Jason Bowers, Capt. Matthew Lupo, Capt. Adam Wyngaard, Engineer Ryan Gaffney, Engineer Nick Kiriazes, Engineer Sam Kilingsworth, Firefighter Alex Ackles, Firefighter Billy Oldham and Firefighter Will Spradley.

“This is a big step for Nolensville,” Nolensville Mayor Derek Adams said. “It’s something that I’ve been fighting for for a couple of years now and it’s exciting for the town, it’s humbling, and I think it’s the beginning of a new chapter as we grow to the big town that we know we’re going to be.”

NFR recently became the primary fire service for the Town of Nolensville, a role that has been fulfilled by the Nolensville Volunteer Fire Department and their county partners since 1973.

“By our very nature as firefighters, residents still invite us into their homes during the worst day of their lives, knowing that we are there to make things better,” Windrow told the group of firefighters before they received their badges.

“Everytime you pin on your badge, whether it be sworn in as the newest firefighter, or as a veteran firefighter, officer or chief reporting to work, remember the trust it represents and the higher code of conduct we collectively must uphold, and proudly wear this badge.” 

“If you look at Chief Windrow and what he’s already building, it is going to be a department that other towns look to as an example of how to build a fire department, and it’s really exciting that we get to be a part of that,” Nolensville Vice Mayor Wendy Cook-Mucci said.

On Saturday, June 26, the Nolensville BOC issued a proclamation recognizing June 26 as “Presley Hughes Day,” honoring Hughes. He served as NVFD’s fire chief from 1974-2010, and continued to serve the department through the volunteer department’s last shift on June 13, 2021, leaving behind a legacy and a foundation for NFR to expand into the future.

“We’ve hired a great group of individuals, we’ve got the 10 career guys, 20 volunteers and 18 part-time people, so I’ll stack this group up against anybody,” Windrow said.

“We’ve already started running calls, and with a true combination look, we went to that fire in Arrington the other night with one paid captain, six volunteers, and the other nine paid and volunteer firefighters stayed behind and trained, so it’s monumental for Nolensville and we’re just really looking forward to the future with this group.”