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by Ruth McCleery Watson (Compiled by), Robert Luce McCleery (Author), Ruth McCleery Watson (Prepared by)
The most complete history ever written of the volunteer fire department in Farmington, Maine from 1850 - 2000 as taken from Robert McCleery's, (former Farmington Fire Department Chief for 23 years with over 40 years of service to the department), notes, articles and pictures. It has been compiled, edited and updated by his daughter who completed the book after her much beloved father's passing from mesothelioma. It's a Labor of Family Love with 332 pages of photos, narrative, annual reports, and more. It's a book written by one who "talked the talk, and walked the walk" who was revered by his fire department and and recognized as a leader by his peers.
Chief McCleery's accomplisments are many, but he was a humble man who viewed his job as one of trying to make the department the best he could with much credit given to the many dedicated and devoted firemen who served over it's storied history. Chief McCleery's legacy is one of of service to a department, region and state he loved. He encouraged his firemen to get training and try new approaches. His saying was: "Go ahead and try it boys, and we'll make it work."
This book tells the story of the life of a fire fighter and it's so much more than fighting fires. It's to witness life's best when working with children and citizens to make the town safer, rescuing a hiker on a mountain, or finding a missing person. It's to witness life's worst when you cannot save a child or older person from a burning building, a family pet, livestock, home or property, or when as a first responder you respond to a fatal accident or murder or suicide scene. Much is demanded of fire fighters, and no one except another fire fighter, or family of a fire fighter can appreciate what it means to be a fire fighter. It requires a commitment to take time away from family, work, and other situations to serve others, and a dedication that cannot be measured in dollars, but knowing that one has given of him or herself to assist their community and fellow citizens or neighbors. Becoming a member of a fire department means your life will never be the same. Fire fighters know people personally and have knowledge of locations where emergencies occur, and they carry the fire and rescue incidents with them in their lives.
This book talks about fire fighting in a town with a population 7,600 and a college population that increases that number by an additional third. The fire department is comprised mostly of volunteers today, but when my father wrote this book it was an all volunteer department with an on-call chief. This book resonates with volunteer fire departments across this country with over 70% of fire departments comprised of some, or all, volunteers; Maine's fire departments are over 90% volunteer. These volunteer department are aging with the vast majority of their membership over 50 years of age as fewer young people want or are able to make the commitment required to join a fire department. Whether you are a volunteer fire department in a town of 300 or a town with a population over 50,000 with a full-time force, the same training mandates and hours exist for both. It's a challenge. Volunteer fire departments have to beg for money for training, apparatus and other needs. When did anyone last see a police department conduct a bake sale for equipment? Change will require a new paradigm as fire departments are asked to do more to protect and serve their communities. I hope this book will be a catalyst for townspeople of small and medium-sized towns to recognize the diverse and many faceted needs of today's firemen, and will result in more adequate funding of fire departments as we ask them to do more to protect and serve us.
This book is a history, a memoir, a biography, and a labor of love.
