Photo courtesy of the Dalton Fire DepartmentEngineer Dale Reed was recently selected by his peers as the Dalton Fire Department Firefighter of the Year.

DALTON, Ga. — As a young man, Dale Reed didn’t dream of saving a damsel in distress or earning fame through undergoing one of the state’s most rigorous training courses. Instead, he was dreaming of winning region titles and playing for championships as a coach.

“I never thought of being a firefighter when I was younger,” said Reed, who is an engineer with the Dalton Fire Department. “I was going to coach and really thought that would be my calling.”

But after being an assistant coach at New Hope Middle as the Kodiaks won three straight Whitfield County Middle School Athletic League baseball titles, Reed said wanted to find another calling.

So far, that’s worked out pretty good for Reed, who was recently named as the department’s Firefighter of the Year — an award voted on by his peers and presented at the most recent Public Safety Commission meeting.

“It is pretty humbling, especially being voted on by your peers,” Reed said. “I am honored.”

Reed and his crew have been part of two rescues, the first in December 2017 when a large fire broke out at Park Canyon Apartments. As the driver of a ladder truck and being the first crew on the scene in the early morning hours that day, Reed was part of a team that rescued a woman stranded on her second story balcony.

In another incident, Reed and his unit helped rescue a man who was caught in flash flood waters in a creek. For both of those incidents, the team was awarded unit citations.

“Dale is one of those firemen who just works quietly and he doesn’t brag about anything he does or accomplishes,” said Battalion Chief Brandon Bray. “That is quickly picked up on by other firefighters. That earns you a respect. It is hard to explain unless you are involved in it. You get the respect of the other guys because of the way you carry yourself. That is what makes you stand out. That is what makes you get the votes to be Firefighter of the Year.”

Reed’s commander, Lt. Steve Bennett, said Reed sets the bar in terms of physical and mental training.

“I’ve been at the fire department for more than 20 years and he is one of the best all-around firefighters I have ever seen,” Bennett said. “He keeps himself informed and keeps himself in tip-top condition. There are always new ways to do things, and Dale is constantly learning and curious about staying up to date. You never know what you are going to run into when you get into a fire, so you constantly train for any situation that you can think of or maybe some other department has run into. We constantly train on how to help each other and other people.”

Reed is one of nine ladder truck operators in the department and earned his certificate in the state’s grueling Georgia Smoke Diver course. Reed said all of that training makes the entire department better.

“Our department is very good about hosting training or sending us off and letting us broaden our horizons on stuff to do,” Reed said. “If I take a class or if another guy takes a class, everybody is good about bringing it back. If they learn something new, teaching it to everybody, the fire service is very good about that.”