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10/02/2024 08:30 AMThis is one fire the Deep River Fire Department does not want to put out. It is the fire cooking the chicken at the fire department barbecue on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the firehouse on Union Street. Tickets are available at the door.
“We have a great chicken recipe,” says Assistant Chief Barry Luff, “and the dinner supports the department.”
He adds that the department plans for 200 meals.
“After that, there is no more,” he says.
Barry wants local residents to be aware of more than the upcoming barbecue. He wants people to know about a fire department issue on the election ballot in November: a referendum on whether to build a new firehouse in the location where the present one now stands. The current firehouse is 63 years old.
According to Barry, the department had an independent needs assessment of the current facilities which deemed them inadequate for present demands. One problem is a leaky roof; another is a lack of space. For training programs, the fire trucks have to be moved out of the garage for the sessions to take place.
“We have to use that garage as a classroom. There is no training room,” he says.
The Pat Munger Construction Company, which did the needs assessment, concluded the station was outdated and too small to serve the current requirements of the town. In addition, it noted the considerable maintenance would be necessary to bring the building up to code.
“It’s a community and safety issue,” Barry says. “We hope the town will support it.”
In. addition to the firehouse referendum, there is another referendum on the ballot asking for approval to purchase two new fire trucks for the department.
Barry joined the fire department after he had an accident in April of 2021 and the fire department was on the scene to help.
“I decided to go through the training. It’s a way of giving back,” he says.
Training included both night and weekend classes for seven months.
In addition, he pointed out that volunteering for the fire department is a way of meeting people and he laments what he sees as a diminishing commitment to volunteerism.
He points to a new member of the department, new also to Deep River.
“His wife told him to join the fire department and meet some people,” he says. “It’s a great way to meet people. I don’t think people volunteer enough. The fire department is a family, there is a lot of camaraderie.”
He also points out that there are many different kinds of responsibilities involved in the department’s work and there is training for all of them.
“When the alarm goes off, everybody has a job,” he says. The fire department has meetings every Wednesday evening at 6:30 and anyone wanting to join is invited to come.
According to Deputy Chief Adam Kerop, the department answers from 180 to 200 calls annually. There are some 45 to 50 active members. The Deep River Fire Department, Barry notes, goes on calls with other fire departments in the area, even in one case Barry recalls, as far as Middletown.
“It depends on the situation and the manpower needs,” he says.
Barry says he is not the only one from his household who is well known at the fire house. His dog, Ranger, a shepherd-cattle dog mix, is also familiar on the premises.
“He is a regular,” Barry says.
The consequences of Barry’s accident went beyond membership in the department. It also meant that he was unable to continue, at least temporarily, working as a pilot for American Airlines. He explains that because of the head injury he suffered in his accident, regulations required that he sit out for five years. He has, at this point, passed all the necessary neurological tests and plans to return to flying in April of 2026.
In the meantime, he is working for Howard Tree Service, but not in above-ground jobs.
“I knew the owner, and he knew I was out of work, and he approached me,” Barry says. He adds that even when he returns as a pilot, he plans to continue with the tree service.
Barry, who grew up in Pennsylvania, started taking flying lessons when he was 17. Both his father and his uncle were aviation enthusiasts who flew on weekends.
“They were just blue-collar guys who liked to fly,” Barry says.
After college at Norwich University in Vermont, he became a pilot at a commuter airline before being hired by American in 2000.
His wife Agata, who grew up in Ivoryton, is a longtime American Airlines flight attendant. The couple’s blended family includes six adult children, four girls and two boys.
At the upcoming barbecue, no matter how good the chicken, Barry is unlikely to have a chance to eat much.
“I’ll be doing everything else: setting up, organizing, helping out,” he says.
Deep River Fire Department Barbecue
Saturday, Oct. 5, 4 to 7 p.m.
At the firehouse, 57 Union Street, Deep River
Tickets available at the door