The City of Derby will honor the memory of Edward J. Cotter, Jr. by unveiling a monument at O’Sullivan’s Island Saturday.
The ceremony is open to the public and is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.
Cotter, a World War II veteran, founded the Valley’s first volunteer ambulance service, the Storm Engine Company Ambulance & Rescue Corps, Valley Emergency Medical Services Paramedic Program, and the Valley Fire Chief’s Training School (which was on O’Sullivan’s Island).
He died on Jan. 21, 2012 at the age of 91.
Cotter was a member of the Connecticut Firefighter Association’s Hall of Fame.
He was posthumously inducted into the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists’ Hall of Fame.
Cotter was a photojournalist for more than 50 years and worked for the former Evening Sentinel and the New Haven Register.
“Ed Cotter, Jr. was a maverick and a true leader in Derby. He was forward thinking and his ideas and methods changed the way we do things for the better. He made a tremendous difference in Derby and the Valley,” Mayor Anthony Staffieri said in a prepared statement May 22.
Cotter served on a state committee that created the regional Emergency Medical Services Regional Council, allowing a regional approach to delivering emergency medical services.
He was Fire Chief, Fire Commissioner, and Civil Defense Director for Derby and changed the way Emergency and fire services were delivered in the Valley.
He did all of this for free, expecting nothing in return, city officials said.
“The dedication of this monument is a small way for us to give back and to say thank you to a man who gave everything in service to his community and the Valley,” Staffieri said.
