On Saturday evening, January 21st, 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 officer’s ceremony and awards dinner at Raphael Vineyards in Peconic. 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 recognize and install the newly elected Chiefs and Officers for 2023, 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.

Commissioner Steven Harned served as master of ceremonies and welcomed everyone to the festivities. Among the guests that addressed the attendees were Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell, N.Y. State Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio.

Newly elected Chief William Brewer was sworn into office as the 46th Chief of Department, along with his assistants, First Assistant Chief Christian Voegel and Second Assistant Chief Christopher Dinizio. The oath of office was administered to Chiefs by Chairman of the Board of Fire Commissioners Michael Finnican.

The newly elected Company Captain Joseph Hinton and Officers of the United Fire Co. No. 1 were sworn into office by Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell

Outgoing Chief Amos Meringer was honored by the District and Department for his service as Chief for the past two years. He was presented with several proclamations and gifts in recognition of his service to the Department and Community.

The members of CFD would like to thank Ex-Chief Meringer and his wife Courtney, for their support and dedication during his term in office and in the chief’s line.

This year CFD is honored to recognize members that have reached significant milestones in their firefighting career.

Ex-Chief Allan W. Glover was honored for celebrating his 60th year of active service.

Following a standing ovation, Allan was 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 his lifetime of service to the CFD.

Other members who were honored for their years of service were:

30 years:
Ex-Chief Michael C. Boken
Lt. Richard Horton
John Hinton

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:

2022 Firefighters of the Year – Lt. Bryan Zissel

2022 EMS Provider of the Year – EMT Timothy Winters

Chiefs Awards / Total Points: Christian Figurniak, Joe Hinton, Arthur Brewer, Tom Shalvey Jr. Andrea Parks

EMS Excellance Awards: Ken Pearsall, Tom Martin, Kenneth Burns, Patrick Kaelin, Tim Winters

These EMS awards were presented to recognize the members with the most hospital transports for 2021. Throughout the year All or our EMS providers dedicate countless additional hours beyond the initial response to ensure the best care possible to our patients until they arrive at a hospital.

In what has become a tradition, the CFD band made a special appearance at the start of dinner, and played under the direction of 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 the Andrea Parks and the dinner committee for putting together a great evening.

A good time was had by all.

Thank you to our fellow brothers and sisters of the Mattituck Fire Department who allowed our members to attend and enjoy this special evening by providing stand-by and automatic Mutual Aid Coverage.

More pictures will be added as they become available.