Summerland’s volunteer firefighters were honoured for their ongoing dedication to the community.
At the 83rd annual Summerland Business and Community Awards, the 29 auxiliary firefighters were the recipients of the Mayor’s Award of Excellence.
“They can be called out to an emergency at any time, day or night,” said Mayor Doug Holmes as he presented the award.
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“Their work is strenuous and often performed in uncertain and hazardous conditions.”
He added while the fire department has five full-time paid staff, more people are required to handle the firefighting needs of the community.
Steve Almas, one of the Summerland volunteer firefighters, said the work presents special challenges and has its own rewards.
“When you go out and help you someone, maybe on the worst day of their life, that’s reward enough,” he said.
He added that the firefighters work as a strong team, with members training together and providing support for each other.
Almas added that the work also affects the families of firefighters.
“I would like to extend the recognition to our families, our spouses and our partners. When our pager goes off, it’s a unique responsibility where we drop and we run. They have a tremendous commitment so we can do our jobs,” he said.
The Mayor’s Award of Excellence was first presented in 2010 and is given to a community organization. Past recipients have included the Summerland Food Bank and Resource Centre, Emergency Support Services, Critteraid and others. The award was not presented in 2020 and 2021.
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