Each year on Sept. 2 — the day in 2012 when Hopkinton fire chief Rick Schaefer died from a heart attack while on duty at the Hopkinton Fair — the town’s firefighters and staff gather at the station and remember their old boss.
The department’s veterans talk about Schaefer often, and they make sure the newbies on the force know who he was as well.
After a decade, after lots of brainstorming and even more fundraising, the department unveiled a bell in Schaefer’s honor last weekend at the town’s fire station. A sturdy bell, shiny and silver, with a granite base, a brick foundation and a strong, penetrating gong. The type you hear from a tall steeple on a sunny New England day.
In time, a patio — made of bricks, each bearing the name of a sponsor — will surround the bell.
“We’ve always planned on something to honor our former chief, and now we have a plan together,” said current Fire Chief Jeff Yale. “We’ve got the money and the right direction to start and the commitment to actually do it. And do it right.”
The ultimate goal of the project was to immortalize a leader who died at the age of 52. Schaefer remains the lone Hopkinton firefighter to die in the line of duty.
He’ll live on behind the station, where his name and the date he died are inscribed in bold black letters over a fresh rectangular field of granite.
“It changed our fire department forever,” said Yale, referring to Schaefer’s death. “He left this department with a huge hole.”
Yale doesn’t come from a long line of firefighters like so many others do. He said watching the TV show “Emergency,” whetted his appetite enough join.
He was hired by Chief Schaefer 16 years ago. He said Schaefer ran a tight ship. He said he was a man of lists, of structure, of finishing tasks efficiently.
“He enjoyed a good time but he was very serious,” said Captain Nate Martel, a firefighter in Hopkinton for 19 years. “He was list-oriented, so he had things to do that he wanted to get done, and he expected the same from everyone. If he said, ‘When you get a chance,’ that meant, ‘right now.’ ”
Schaefer was a first-on-the-scene kind of chief, leading by example, pushing himself, and pushing others without saying a word. His old crew insisted that he was regularly the first to head out on a call.
“His pager would go off at 2 in the morning and invariably he would be the first to respond,” said Hopkinton firefighter Jim Lewis, who worked under Schaefer for 13 years. “We thought he had his pager under his pillow, but we could never confirm that. But he was dedicated to a fault, always the first to respond, to anything, anytime, any day. Always.”
He nurtured and promoted Hopkinton firefighting, guiding and energizing youth programs, open houses, and open discussions among his crew following particularly difficult assignments.
“Some calls they went out on were horrible,” said Schaefer’s widow, Kathy. “Unless you were there, you don’t know. They needed time to come back (to the station) and talk about it.”
Kathy, for the most part, remained stoic last weekend at the firehouse. Children received tours of the station, the equipment and the vehicles, all part of the department’s open house program that traditionally stands on its own.
This one had an extra element: the tribute to their fallen chief.
“It’s hard to talk about,” Kathy said, “especially coming back into the firehouse those first few times and not seeing Rick. Some days it feels like it just happened.”
His death was a big deal in the community. A highly visible resident of Hopkinton and the town’s first full-time fire chief had passed on. He was lean and mean, about 6-foot-3, maybe 185 pounds. He ate well, smartly. His death from a heart attack made no sense. Still doesn’t today.
“He was in great shape,” Yale said. “No extra weight. He worked out every day, and as he got older, he wanted to stay healthy and keep his blood pressure down and under control.”
The outpouring of support by the department spilled out like a high-powered hose. Kathy still visits the station. She says hi to the people who, as she said, “are still my family, even though Rick is gone.”
Heather Dow, 31, was a student at Hopkinton High when Schaefer was a maintenance worker there. Her family has close ties to the firefighting community. She’s part of the department’s auxiliary team, and she got an up-close-and-personal introduction to Schaefer and his sense of fair play and leadership skills.
“Mr. Schaefer was a huge part of the town,” Dow said. “You were just seeing him everywhere, helping people. A genuine person, kind and just very sweet. We were all at the fair when we found out.”
The bell will help keep the memory of Schaefer alive. Kathy and Rick’s daughter, Jessamyn, loves the attention and support her father has received. Firefighters and staff gather at Kathy’s house each year on a bittersweet day: the anniversary of Schaefer’s death.
“The department shows up at mom’s house each year on Sept. 2,” Jessamyn said. “They tell stories about dad, and those stories are always good to hear.”