MOSES LAKE - Masonic Lodge 174 recognized firefighters and people in law enforcement at the fifth annual Public Service Awards ceremony.

Awards Chairman Gordon Harris brought the awards to Moses Lake after hearing about similar awards given out in Western Washington.

Harris noted many people don't know what public servants do. The public service awards give people an insight into their lives and a chance to recognize their accomplishments, he said.

Five different agencies were represented Tuesday: The Grant County Sheriff's Office, Grant County Fire District 5, Washington State Patrol, Moses Lake Police Department and the Moses Lake Fire Department.

Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones nominated Lieutenant Kerri Adler for the Public Service Award she received.

Adler has worked for the sheriff's office for the past 21 years. She is assigned to the sheriff office's main correctional facility, where her responsibilities require her to meet the needs of the entire inmate population, supervise the correctional staff and be held accountable to Grant County citizens, Jones wrote in his nomination letter.

In 2011, in Adler's annual performance review, her immediate supervisor wrote, "I haven't seen one assignment that she hasn't been able to perform."

"She brings an attitude to work with her every day to ensure whatever tasks needing her attention will get the attention required," wrote Jones. "The job will get done or she won't go home."

Grant County Fire District 5 former Chief Scott Clendenin nominated Brent Haley and Brandon Wertman, firefighters for Grant County Fire District 5.

In September, Haley and Wertman entered a single-story house fire in Moses Lake. They reached for a locked door and found the door knob hot and the entire door hot.

They notified their incident commander who directed fire crews to leave the building.

If the door had been forced open, the rush of fresh air entering the room and the presence of extreme heat and flames would have likely caused a flashover, wrote Clendenin.

A flashover causes combustible material in an enclosed area to ignite almost simultaneously.

"If not for the experience and skills displayed by firefighter Brent Haley and firefighter Brandon Wertman ... Grant County Fire District 5 would have had a possible catastrophic incident," he wrote.

Washington State Patrol (WSP) Sergeant Dan McDonald nominated Trooper Timothy Kron.

Kron has worked for the WSP for nine years, five of them in the Moses Lake detachment, which covers all of Grant County.

In 2011, Kron apprehended 62 drivers for driving under the influence (DUI) and averaged one DUI arrest per night shift. He led his detachment with 1,618 speed contacts, 616 seat belt contacts, 268 aggressive driver contacts, 29 drug arrests and 39 collision investigations. He also assisted 378 disabled motorists.

In early 2011, Kron took the lead in the Problem Oriented Public Safety (POPS) project, which aimed to reduce traffic-related fatalities among teen drivers in Grant County. Between July 2010 and February 2011 there were four collisions in Grant County that resulted in the fatalities of eight teenagers. Since February 2011, there have been no teen related fatalities.

"Trooper Kron is a large contributor to the success of the agency and goals set forth by Chief of the Washington State Patrol," wrote McDonald. "He is also a model citizen and a huge asset to the citizens of Grant County."

Moses Lake Police Department Sergeant Paul Harder nominated Officers Richard Francis and Dean Gaddis. They investigate street crimes and have arrested several gang members, burglars and vehicle prowlers since the department started its street crime unit. They have recovered stolen vehicles, apprehended two shooters in a drive-by shooting in Othello, arrested a rape suspect from Western Washington, and caught an escapee from a Colorado correctional institution.

This year, they made an arrest tied to multiple residential burglaries around Moses Lake. The suspect traded stolen property from the burglaries for narcotics.

"This is just a quick snap-shot of what they do," wrote Harder. "They are very deserving of recognition for the work they do."

Moses Lake Fire Department Chief Tom Taylor nominated firefighter and paramedic Todd Schanze.

Schanze served for two years as the department's medical services officer and helped advance the department's emergency medical program. He organized training, ran the peer review program and reviewed hundreds of patient care reports to ensure personnel met patient care standards.

Under Schanze's guidance, the fire department dramatically increased the sudden cardiac arrest victims they were able to save.

"We were able to save more lives (and) respond more efficiently with better personnel," wrote Taylor.