Center Groton firefighters celebrate 75 years of serving the community
Kevin Arnold, The Day, New London, Conn.
5 min read
Aug. 1—GROTON — With faces from the past alongside currents members of the company, the Center Groton Fire Department celebrated 75 years of serving the community on Sunday.
Tucked away in a neighborhood on Candlewood Road, the department's diamond jubilee served as a reminder of its growth over the years.
"To still be a volunteer department in itself is an accomplishment in the nation and we could not do that if it wasn't for all the life members who came before us, all of the members who were just members for a couple years," Cody Ison, a fourth-year firefighter/EMT as well as president of the company said. "Everyone's played a part in this and we're thankful for it."
For 75 years the department has remained entirely volunteer, and the company hangs its hat on that fact, said district President Kathee Ivey.
"Being volunteer and 100% volunteer is a wonderful thing," Ivey said. "We hope to do another 75 years."
"To be such a small department and still be able to do what we do, after 75 years, it means a lot to us," Ison added. "We have a lot of pride in that."
Chief Jeffrey Post said the department began with World War II veterans addressing a community need and has stuck around to provide support to the community.
Whether it be a fire or someone who has fallen ill, Post said the department's volunteers are always there to serve, no matter the time of day.
"Those that actually do give volunteer time, they're absolute heroes," Post said. "These people are giving up huge chunks of their lives."
Post, a volunteer since 1994, said he's watched middle class people work one, maybe two jobs, and still find time to volunteer. This level of sacrifice stuck with Post from a young age, he said, and provided a source of inspiration in his own life as a career firefighter and volunteer.
"There's a bunch of people — guys like Jim Wilson, John Gordon —there's just been so many names I could mention that they kind of paved the groundwork to keep the company the way it is," Post elaborated.
In his two-year tenure as chief, Post said he's taken his leadership position and put his own "spin" on it.
As the leader of the "most diverse department in the town of Groton," Post said he implemented a "huddle" method which allows the firefighters to quickly convene and point out what they see in a situation so Post can delegate responsibilities.
While he still is in command, this allows Post to give his team members moments of leadership and responsibility that they may not have had in the past.
Post says its his way of "blending" old-school leadership styles with a more contemporary mindset. Ison described knowledge as a "rotating door" with firefighters both old and new teaching each other new things.
Ison noted that while Sunday was a joyful day, with cheeseburgers, hotdogs, cake and games of cornhole, it wasn't always like that.
The company currently has 10 firefighters enlisted, but Ison said he started when there were just four. The department receives 110-120 calls a year, or about a dozen a month.
Though he said finding volunteers will always be an issue, Ison credited Post's and Deputy Chief Nathan Shank's leadership for righting the ship.
"Top notch, quality people," Ison said of the two men. "They care about others in a way that you don't really see too often anymore and they care about the job."
Ison explained how local fire departments, like Poquonnock Bridge Fire District, will call them more often for assistance while giving them more responsibility at the scene. Shank's goal is to remain an asset to the people that support the department most.
"In these economic times you can either be an asset or a liability to the taxpayer and our goal is to continue to be an asset well into the future," Shank said.
Part of that future has been upgrading the firehouse, which is the second in the department's history.
The department has upgraded all three of its trucks over the last few years, Post said, with the most recent addition being a new engine. Shank said all of the department's equipment is now up to date, while Ivey and Post said they're planning on constructing an addition to the department that would feature dorms, exercise facilities, a proper training room and a fire marshal's office.
Ivey noted that while the new equipment is a necessity, the department is frugal with its spending as to not over burden taxpayers. The new amenities can also recruit new firefighters.
"Even if you have a great set of firefighters right now, they can only last so long," Ivey said. "You need new ones to learn the ropes while they're still in it."
While the small, 100% volunteer department in the middle of a neighborhood battles the logistical headaches associated with firefighting, it's members appreciate what it has taken to survive for 75 years.
"You can simultaneously respect what's been done in the past and still focus on what needs to be done in the future," Shank said. "I feel very grateful for the spot I'm in where I can reconcile those two things."
