ROCHESTER — Chief Mark Klose is pleased to announce the unveiling of the new walls honoring the department’s retirees and past chiefs of the Rochester Fire Department.
The retirees and chiefs walls now adorn an entire side of the top floor hallway that leads to the department’s command staff offices. The retiree wall, which is still in the process of being completed, pays tribute to the men and women who have served Rochester Fire, displaying their photographs for all current members and visitors to see.
“None of the individuals whose pictures are on that wall joined the fire service for honors or recognition, but rather out of a sense of duty and a desire to serve their community,” Chief Klose said. “The retiree wall is both a great way to show our former members how much their service mattered to all of us and remind them that they’re always going to be a part of the brotherhood of the department.”
The retiree wall was the idea of retired FirefighterNick Angelo, and designed and installed by Milton Firefighter Jason Shearn.
In addition, the chief’s wall displays the photos of all of the full-time chiefs who have served the department, beginning with Chief John F. Nute, who served as chief from 1915 until his death at age 75 in 1938.
Chief Klose’s photo is the final one on the wall, and all but two of the department’s past chiefs–of whom there are no photos available–are recognized, though spaces have been set aside for the ones not pictured.
Chief John Nute was the department’s first full-time chief, and is among those honored on the chief’s wall on the top floor of Rochester Fire headquarters. (Courtesy Photo Rochester Fire Department)
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