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‘â€"_ i : td Stathis Theofilopoulos â€" ready to serve Page 1 of 2 Stathis Theofilopoulos â€" ready to serve & f wWritten by Bob Owen * Saturday, 02 lune 2012 21:28 ; I , . 8 13 s | : <iz~ | was =*~ | * | ne _ â€" > :7,”:" | | M s . e _/ +. 3 | | k . hx o t | nuls on FIRE RESCUE ___> Over the past two years the face of the Cramahe Fire Department has changed. The department has nine new members who we are profiling in May and June. This is the fifth in the series. Stathis Theofilopoulos knew he wanted to serve the community. After completing a twoâ€"year diplbma course at Conestoga College and his BA in Sociology at Brock University he thought he‘d head into the police force. he‘d > even done the police testing. But he met Cramahe fireman Andy Carr at the Y one day and his direction changed. Andy suggested he try the fire department; it would be a great experience. Stathis never looked back. | The idea meshed perfectly with his work at Vito‘s his family‘s restaurant in i Colborne where he works alongside his dad, Chris. He and his three siblings : M grew up working in the restaurant where their parents raised them with strong family values and a sense of responsibillity. %f Stathis says he didn‘t want a desk job; he has always wanted to help others and the fire department work is endlessly new. When his pager goes off he 5 never knows what will lie ahead. He‘s always learning and the other members on the force have been very supportive. Everybody helps each other. And if that‘s not enough, he‘s following in the footsteps of his dad who was a volunteer firefighter when he and the family first moved to Colborne years ago. & Stathis has his DZ licence, so he‘s capable of driving the big trucks, and Chief s Brandon Northrup has been sending him on upgrading courses.