On Saturday evening, April 30th, the Cutchogue Fire District, in conjunction with the United Fire Co. No. 1 of the Cutchogue Fire Department and the Cutchogue Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary held their annual installation of officers ceremony and awards dinner at Eastwind Caterers in Wading River. The dinner was attended by Fire Department and Ladies Auxiliary members as well as local dignitaries and invited guests.

The purpose of the evening was to officially swear in the newly elected Chief and Assistant Fire Chiefs, as well as honor our Volunteers for their service and dedication to the Cutchogue Fire Department and the community we serve. Several special awards were presented over the course of the evening.

Chief William A. Brewer was re-installed into office as the Chief of Department, along with his assistants, First Assistant Chief Lawrence Behr, and Second Assistant Chief William Burns.

Under the direction of the Board of Fire Commissioners the oath of office was administered to the Chiefs and company Officers by Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell.

This year CFD is honored to recognize a member that has reached significant milestones in their firefighting career.
Firefighter Richard McBride was honored for celebrating his 50th year of active service.

Richie was presented a plaque by the Chiefs as well as several proclamations presented on behalf of our local dignitaries. These items only serve as a small token of appreciation and thanks for their lifetime of service to the CFD.

In addition to the above longevity awards several special awards were presented to several members for service to the Department over the past year. The CFD is pleased to honor the following members:

2015 Firefighters of the Year – Firefighter Frank H. McBride (Awarded Posthumously)

Frank was honored for his nearly 17 years of service to the residents of Cutchogue and Southold Town. Frank exhibited the true values of a Volunteer Firefighter. He carried on family legacy, following in the footsteps of his late Grandfather Frank ”Mickey” McBride and served alongside his father Richie, brother Michael and several other uncles and cousins within our Department. Frank was dedicated to serving and helping others. His smile and personable demeanor was contagious to everyone he worked with. Frank no doubt had a positive effect on everyone he had a chance to interact within the Department and Community itself. We are all saddened by his sudden passing, but we are honored to honor his legacy by awarding him with our Departments highest award for all that he has done for us all.

2015 EMS Provider of the Year – Darrell Berezny

Darrell was being honored for his actions on July 18, 2015 when he responded to a serious motor vehicle accident involving multiple injuries, and the response of multiple agencies.

2015 Probationary Member of the Year – Christine Bieber

Chiefs Awards for overall prefomance and participation: T.J. Behr, Lt. Joeseph Hinton, Lt. Chris Dinizio, Michael Kiel, James Burns.

Suffolk County Legislator Albert Krupski Jr. made a special presentation to the the members of CFD who have served our country. A special "Military Veteran" pin issued by Suffolk County was presented to the members on behalf of Suffolk County in recognition of their service.

The Chiefs also recognized Robert Scott of Robert Jewelers and Jason Damianos of Jason's Vineyards for their continued support as a sponsor to the Annual Chiefs Steak Night Fundraiser. Each was presented with a plauque to be placed in thier buseness in appreciation of their generosity to CFD throughout the years.

In what has become a tradition, the CFD band made a special appearance at the dinner, and played to honor their leader Tom Roslak.

The Commissioners of the Cutchogue Fire District, the Chiefs, Officer and Members of the Cutchogue Fire Department United Fire Co. No. 1, and the Cutchogue Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary would like to extend our congratulations and thanks to all of the night's honorees and award winners.

Thank you to our fellow brothers and sisters of the Mattituck Fire Department who allowed our members to attend and enjoy this special evening. MFD provided an engine and ambulance crew to handle any calls in our District for the evening.

An enjoyable evening was had by all.

More pictures will be added as they become available.

Thank you to Rich Hartmann for providing many of the pictures.