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At the beginning of each year, the LaGrange Fire Department nominates and selects a firefighter of the year. 

This year Troup County native Sgt. Charles Mallory from LFD Station 2 was selected as the 2020 Firefighter of the Year. 

Like most events in 2020, the annual recognition ceremony was canceled but that hasn’t dampened Mallory’s spirits. He said he is just honored to even be considered for the award. 

“When I found out, I was surprised,” Mallory said. “There were a lot of good candidates. We have an incredible amount of great guys and great talent, and they all are very smart. Everyone puts in hard work all year long.” 

Within a few days of Mallory being named firefighter of the year, he was also promoted to sergeant. 

LFD Chief John Brant said that Mallory made a huge improvement in 2019. 

“He is always top of everything, but last year he really made a complete turnaround,” Brant said. “He focused really hard on training, education and more. He is a true leader in the department that stepped up.” 

Recently this year, the fire department implemented a health and wellness program that Mallory has been a major part of to the point of becoming head of the program. 

Mallory said the department is in the process of building that program. Along with the program, Mallory also took numerous training and education courses throughout 2019 to better himself as a firefighter. 

“2020 started off as a really great year, but COVID-19 hasn’t stopped me or the department from still serving the community,” Mallory said. “It really brings me joy to bring help to the people that need it.” 

Mallory says whether the call is an urgent situation or not, he treats it like it is because it’s important to the caller. 

“People call for a reason, and we want to help them no matter the situation,” Mallory said. “We want to offer that peace of mind and help them out. It’s all about being able to comfort somebody when they have had a hard time.”

Mallory has been with the department for the past 14 years, since he was 22. 

“I have been with them for so long so this a really big honor for me,” Mallory said. “We have a really strong department so any one of these guys could have been chosen.”