BLADENSBURG — Friends, fellow firefighters and their families turned out Saturday to bid a fond farewell to Fred Summerfield, who is retiring after serving as a volunteer with the Bladensburg Fire Department for 32 years. Also present was Summerfield’s son, Rex, who resides in Idaho.
“We will miss Fred,” declared fire chief Nick Cockrell. “He can do about anything, whether it’s making stuff for the trucks, or the office or fixing trucks. He even hauled Santa Claus this year in the parade.”
Cockrell said Summerfield has always been a big help. “The things I don’t understand, Fred understands,” he said.
His fellow firefighters also said Summerfield’s know-how has been a great asset to the department.
“He’s just full of knowledge,” said assistant chief Dustin Baker. “Anything we need, we go to him and somehow he has the answer. He’s been there and done that. And he’s easy to listen to.”
Assistant chief Dan Rice concurred. “Fred has 32 years of knowing how to do everything. He’s trained half this county, with just a huge knowledge in rope rescue and technical rescue stuff. When I was a kid 20 years ago and my dad joined, Fred was already a senior member of the department. It’s been great working with him.”
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