When i was a kid, my family lived on Dewey St, in the City of Worcester and on occasion i would walk over to the Park Ave Fire House and just "hang around", i would talk with the guys who worked there and over time i got attached to a particular group of guys....The Men of Group 3, Engine 4, Engine 10 and Ladder 7
These men would show me different things, teach me things and do many things to help me learn more of the fire service , what it entails, what the training is like, the different types of calls, the equipment and its purpose and so much more. As time when on we all grew very comfortable with each other and they started inviting me to lunch or dinner but they were comfortable enough to leave me alone at the station if they had to go out on a call and i would either wait outside, go home or jump on my bike and go watch if it was close enough.
As i got older, the guys at Park Ave had told me about a group of guys that help out on 4th of July, and also get called in on the 4th alarm for fires in the city, this group was known as Auxiliary Worcester firefighters and they would train down on Grove St at fire headquarters under the direction of Don Downer and Richard Hosegood, there i met more guys that were firefighters for the city and also a couple of dispatchers for the fire department...Jack Welch, Bob Sheehan, Dave Lindsey and also some district and deputy fire chiefs.
Being a part of this group afforded me great opportunities later on, i was able to ride on a Park Ave company, take hydrants at working fires, assist at brush fires, wear a tank on master box alarms, do some over haul inside of structures and assist with exterior attacks. As time went on my knowledge became even greater due to several people in group 3 at Park Ave, specifically Joe Henderson whom i have known since he was a private on Engine 4, then moved up thru the ranks and became a district fire chief, and the other person was Leo Gauthier of Engine 4, for it was he who taught me so much, and taught me the right way..He taught me different terms that firefighters use, especially the term " JAKE" which is slang for a good firefighter..I will forever cherish my memories with the men of group 3, some have moved up in rank, some have retired, some remain at Park Ave and sadly a couple have passed away.
As time went on thru the years i moved to the Town of Auburn, there i also became an auxiliary firefighter, couldnt really do much more then i had with Worcester but it was getting my foot in the door to a department that i liked, an Auburn was busy enough with calls and also it was a mutual aid company that went to Worcester on a 4th alarm. It was with this department that my child hood dream of being a firefighter was about to come true.
In 1990 i was selected to attend the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy to begin training for a position as a regular firefighter for the Town of Auburn. I was elated, i has passed the word to all my friends at Park Ave who supported me and guided me when i had trouble understanding some things, or helped me practice tying my knots....As i said, i was estatic.
As training went on, i was in the last class to travel the state for different evolution's,..we did hose dragging, pumping, dry evolutions and ladder drills in Framingham, ..we travel to the Barstable burn building for live fire training such as one and two room fires, cellar fires, roof ventilation and more.....But my class was also the 1st class to graduate from the new Academy, as the weeks were coming to a close all our drills, evolutions, burns, car fires, lp gas drills were all held at the Academy.
As 7 long weeks (that was the training duration pre - 9/11 at the time) came to a close, we were told to choose our guests who we would like to attend our graduation. Our Chief at the time was automatically going, as he was the one who was handing us our certificates. The guests i chose was the guys who meant a lot to me from Park Ave.... Lt. Joseph Henderson and FF Thomas MacLaughlin, i would have loved to have Leo there also but he had gone away to Cape Cod and i did not want to disturb him from his vacation.
When graduation day came, everyone i invited was there and smiling proudly. The academy played a video of our class from day 1 right upto the week before graduation, and it was funny....It showed everyone being tense not knowing what to expect to drilling to hanging out windows to climbing ladders to an all out drill with lots of heat, smoke and flames as that final burn brought everything and everyone together...the meaning of "the brotherhood" was seen.
As the director of the academy Stephen Coan (who is now state fire marshall) began to call our names and department i started to get nervous, a happy nervous because i did it !!! and then hearing my name Firefighter Arthur J Dyer III be called was confirmation of it all. I was finally a Massachusetts certified Firefighter and i worked for the Town of Auburn but never ever forgot where it all began.
After graduating from the academy, i was assigned to Res1cuE, personally i loved the rescue company more then engine and truck companies. Being on the rescue offered me more challenges and the chance to see more..not that i enjoyed seeing some of the things i have but as i said more so because of the learning that i would be doing...Also another thing i wanted the most was a leather helmet. Leo had taught me that a leather helmet is one of the toughest, longest lasting helmet for firefighters. Boston Fire and FDNY have them and at this time alot of jakes from Worcester Fire were getting them. ....Below is my original helmet, which to this day i still have.
Alot of years i had in the fire service.....from being an Auxiliary firefighter for Worcester and Auburn, to attending the Mass. Fire Academy to being appointed a firefighter for the town of Auburn...during this time i have seen many fires, accidents, hazard material incidents, industrial accidents, drownings, first responder calls and more but the one fire that will forever be in my heart and on my mind is the awful night of December 3, 1999. 6 jakes from Worcester Fire lost there lives in a windowless, multistory inferno, and for 8 days the City of Worcester and surrounding towns battled this beast that claimed our own......and with this incident
The days of my firefighting career were well underway.....................................
