Wednesday the Redding Fire Department held their annual awards and recognized several firefighters in the department.
The biggest awards of the day went to inspector Jeremy Stoke with the Medal of Valor as well as the firefighter of the year award.
As a fallen hero, stoke is now the first firefighter within the department to receive the Medal of Valor.
“To my knowledge that is the first time that we have given out the medal” Chief Kreider said.
This year has been tough on the Redding Fire Department from battling the Carr Fire, to the loss of Stoke, and the sudden loss of Fire Chief Gray.
Fire Chief Kreider told us “It's been an unbelievable year for us. Not only did we lose Jeremy in the Carr fire but we lost fire Chief Gray just weeks before that. You know our department has been through a lot and these kind of ceremonies bring those emotions back, but it's good to recognize their heroic efforts.”