Jeff Whittemore had no idea the Lincoln County Fire Chiefs Association was naming him firefighter of the year. So when it did at a South Bristol event Aug. 16, it felt like a surprise party, he said.

“I’m thrilled, I’m proud. What a compliment,” the Alna firefighter said Aug. 18. He was proud the Alna department nominated him and the association gave him the award, he said.

Whittemore joined the department in March 2016. He moved to Alna from Massachusetts in October 2015 with no experience on a fire department, but he was familiar with volunteer departments in Massachusetts and figured he would be joining a good group of people and getting to know the community.

He also recalled meeting an Alna firefighter, Capt. Stewart Rhine, when Rhine came to his door with a FedEx package. It was Whittemore’s, but Rhine told him FedEx had delivered it to his Cross Road property instead of Whittemore’s on Sheepscot Road. Whittemore noticed Rhine was wearing a fire department emblem. Whittemore asked if he would be too old to join. It turned out Rhine was older than he was.

Whittemore said, when he joined, he was asked if he wanted to do traffic control or other duties. But he wanted to help fight fires. “I said I want to contribute.” He received training last spring on interior firefighting.

Asked Aug. 18 about Whittemore’s award, Alna Fire Chief Mike Trask said: “I think it’s well-deserved. He’s done a great job.”

A department Facebook post Aug. 17 congratulates Whittemore. “Jeff has shown dedication to the town by taking fire training, responding to calls and making sure our trucks are in ready shape for emergency responses.”

Whittemore was a truck driver and said he never gave up his commercial driver’s license. That’s good for the department because it means he can drive a fire truck, he said.