SUMMERDALE - During the December council meeting, the Summerdale Volunteer Fire Department presented volunteer firefighter Derek Cutts with the award for Firefighter of the Year for 2019. The surprise award included recognition before the council, an honorary plaque, a check from the volunteers, and hot chocolate.

“From January 1 through November 30 we’ve had 222 total fire calls, and [Derek] has responded to 149 of those,” said volunteer Tiffany Givens. “He graduated from the 160-hour training course, and he has helped maintain cleaning the station.”

This year, Cutts has been appointed to the special events committee and he’s helped with all the extra events covered by the department, including but not limited to: the town’s Easter egg hunt, the Summerdale Church of Christ event, the Summerdale Library’s safety day, Fire Safety Day at Summerdale School, the Firefighter Appreciation Breakfast at Snook Christian Academy, the Town of Summerdale’s Fall Festival, Robertsdale Assembly’s Trunk or Treat, the funeral for the fallen firefighter in Florida, and has attended the council meetings in Summerdale.

“He completes tasks as asked by his supervisors,” Givens said. “When our department went through changes, two people were asked to leave their positions, then three other people dropped out. Two remained, and Derek was one of them. He could have left, but he hung in there with his new knowledge and training provided by the station. He stuck by us.”

Following, Interim Chief Woody Kicklighter and Interim Assistant Chief Derrick Givens presented Cutts with the awards.

To learn more about the Summerdale Volunteer Fire Department, check out their website at www.summerdaleal.com/fire-department and follow them on Facebook.