Veteran firefighters retire after 100 years combined service
Melanie Ferrier | CBC News | Posted: February 4, 2017 12:55 PM | Last Updated: February 6, 2017
Oscar Clemmer, Delford Martin and Cecil Martin were honoured on Saturday, Jan. 28
After putting in more than 100 years of combined service, three veteran firefighters with the Woolwich Township Fire Department have retired.
Oscar Clemmer, Delford Martin and Cecil Martin were honoured at a banquet on Saturday, Jan. 28.
You put on these raggedy black boots – long boots up to your hips – and hat and just carry on and train as you go. - Oscar Clemmer
"You kind of come to that magic number that they say it's time to retire," said Delford Martin in an interview with Craig Norris on The Morning Edition, but he and the other two men admit that giving up the job has been hard.
"I always wanted to be part of the community in some way," said Cecil Martin, "and this was something that I felt quite relaxed at doing and I enjoyed it. It was a good bunch of guys to work with."
The men served at a small fire station at 50 Florapine Road in the rural town of Floradale, a six minute drive north of Elmira.
Like most other volunteer firefighters, they all held down other jobs, but had agreements with their employers that made it possible for them to leave work at a moment's notice if the fire department needed them to attend a fire or other emergency.
Responding on foot
Cecil Martin, who joined the department 23 years ago, said he can still remember the first call he responded to.
"It was the first time my pager went off and the fellow who answered the radio said, 'We're going to be responding on foot.' And I thought, 'What did I get into here?'"
It turned out that the call came from a woman who lived next door to the fire station who was in medical distress.
'Train as you go'
In the early days, the men said there was no formal training. Instead, they learned by doing, and by following the lead of more experienced volunteers.
There were some calls that were pretty nasty and each one kind of hit you different, depending what you were doing. - Cecil Martin
"They'll tell you what to do. You do it this way and do this and do this," said Oscar Clemmer, who served the longest of the three men, a total of 45 years.
"You put on these raggedy black boots – long boots up to your hips – and hat and just carry on and train as you go."
He said he feels a bit sorry for the men who join the department today, because of all the training requirements they must meet before they can touch a hose, but he recognizes the importance of the new rules.
Emotional strain
The men also appreciate the growing support and recognition from the department volunteers receive for the emotional strain of the job.
"Any calls, if there was something we had to talk about after, you just sat around the hall and we chatted about it," Cecil Martin said.
"There were some calls that were pretty nasty and each one kind of hit you different, depending what you were doing. Sometimes it was just good to know that you're not the only one feeling that way about a fatality or whatever it was."
Now that the men have officially retired from volunteer service, they say it feels strange to not have a pager on at all times or to sleep through a night.
Oscar Clemmer said he still finds ways to stay involved with the department, such as looking after the pagers and radios, while the others said they're enjoying some much-needed rest and time with family.