After thirty six years in emergency services, I have finally retired…hung it up…answered my last emergency call…finished.
Hard to believe, but yesterday, I turned in my resignation at ADPS. Fighting fires is a young man’s job and my body has not kept up with my young man’s sense of still wanting to play.
After the city did away with the part-time Driver Operators last summer, I stated to get a sense that this was not too far off.
Even though I was now “only a volunteer”, I still received a stipend that amounted to about $1,400/year….but I was not doing anything to earn it and felt guilty about that.
And the day has come and I am no longer “a member”.
My daughter came by Station #3 during my last shift as a Driver/Operator for the city last June and took a few photos.
I was thinking about it and here is a list of all the agencies I worked with over the years:
Warren Twp. (NJ) Community Fire Company #3
Green Brook (NJ) Raritan Valley Hospital Emergency Room
Warren Twp. (NJ) Rescue Squad
Summit (NJ) Overlook Hospital Mobile Intensive Care Unit (Medic 1 & Medic II)
Emmitsburg, (MD) Mt. St. Mary’s College EMS (Founding member with Tom Dolan)
Emmitsburg (MD) Vigilant Hose Co. #6
Emmitsburg (MD) Community Ambulance Co. #26
Gettysburg (PA) AM Warner Hospital, ER Tech.
Freehold (NJ) First Aid Squad
Manvile (NJ) First Aid & Rescue Squad
NDMS D-MAT/D-MORT MD-1
NJ State Police (NJ) Office of Emergency Management
Middlesex (NJ) First Aid & Rescue Squad
Monroe County (PA) West End Ambulance Co. #8
Monroe County (PA) EMS Station #9
Aiken (SC) Department of Public Safety, Fire Division
I met a lot of super people over the years while helping babies be born, looking into the eyes of those dying and everything in between. I cannot think of a better way to have spent all those years and I will carry those memories with me for the rest of my days. Sure beat playing golf.
Well done Ray! You have earned the well deserved rest!!
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Thank you for your service to your community. You should be very proud of yourself. Congratulations!
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Thank you. I must say though, that I never did it to serve the community…I did it because it was interesting, exciting and fun. Doing those things in whatever form i did them was my primary hobby for over three and a half decades. The fact that I helped many people and delivered three babies along the was was an extra benefit.
Over the last ten months, it stopped being fun.
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