Longtime Harmony firefighter named Volunteer of Year
The borough of Zelienople recently presented its 2019 Volunteer of the Year Award to longtime Harmony Fire District firefighter Rodney Kniess.
Kniess first joined the fire department in 1975, and has risen through the ranks, holding three lieutenant positions and once serving as the department’s assistant chief. He currently serves as the fire company’s treasurer, a role he has held since 1992.
Kniess “was a very good firefighter and a dedicated individual,” said Tim Sapienza, fire district president.
Sapienza said two calls stand out to him.
One was an incident in which Kniess revived a puppy, giving it supplemental oxygen and chest compressions.
Another was when he gave a man who was in full cardiac arrest chest compressions the entire way to Ellwood City Hospital, noting that the man survived in spite of there being no automated external defibrillators at the time.
Kniess volunteered as the district’s treasurer when the then-incumbent bookkeeper resigned without notice. The borough said his “impeccable” job in that role has led to state auditors commending his bookkeeping skills.
The 45-year volunteer also single-handedly replaced a 10-year-old brush truck in 1982 and heads up fundraising drives, bill payments and insurance pricing.
