Officials in Sumiton are reflecting this week on the life of a longtime firefighter, Lt. Rickey Lee Woods, who died last week and will receive a major fireman's tribute at his funeral on Saturday. He was 69.
The death of the Sumiton resident - said in a 2012 Daily Mountain Eagle report to be one of the first African-American firefighters in the area - was announced on the Facebook page of the Sumiton Fire and Rescue after he died on Friday from COVID-19 at UAB Hospital in Birmingham.
Officials with Sumiton Fire and Rescue posted on Facebook that a funeral is being planned for Saturday, Oct. 17, at Sumiton Church of God. Burial will be at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church Cemetery.
"This is going to be considered a line of duty death," Waid said. "He potentially contracted COVID from running calls," Fire Chief David Waid said. A formal fireman's tribute is expected that day, with a large turnout from other departments.