The Goodyear Fire Department’s annual awards banquet last week was a very emotional one.
The department named late firefighter Austin Peck as their Firefighter of the Year on Thursday night.
The award was accepted by his parents.
“It’s hard and it’s so emotional… it’s very, very bitter sweet,” Marie Peck, Austin’s mother, told KTAR News 92.3 FM.
“But we wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Peck died last fall after a nearly four-year battle against cancer, which he contracted as a result of his work as a fireman. The 35-year-old had served as a fireman for 11 years and is survived by his widow and two young daughters.
However, the Goodyear Fire Department wants to make sure Peck’s memory lives on for many years to come.