By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — Most people try not to take their jobs home with them, but Richard Meerbott’s house is filled with photos, figurines, coffee mugs, and other memorabilia that celebrate his long career as a firefighter.

Meerbott retired in mid-January as a Pawtucket Fire Department battalion chief after an impressive 39 and a half year run. He would have stayed longer, he said, if it weren’t for reaching what he clearly regards as a pesky 65th birthday that forced him to leave a job that he truly enjoyed.
Sitting in a living room that even sports a firefighter-themed wallpaper border, Meerbott reflected on what kept him so long in a job that he initially thought would be temporary. “There are so many things that I liked about it. The challenge. You’d come into the station and you never knew what was going to happen that day. It was a rewarding job,” he said.
He added that for him, another important factor in his longevity was “the companionship...the guys. Firefighters are all very close. It really is a brotherhood in many ways.”
Meerbott, who grew up in Florida, said he never expected to be retiring from Pawtucket, Rhode Island when he applied for a firefighter’s job back in 1968. He had spent four years in the U.S. Army, which had where he had been assigned to the National Security Agency, and had completed two years of college. He had a job lined up as a police officer in West Palm Beach, but the position wouldn’t be available for about a year.
He had been sent to Fort Devens in Massachusetts for a training session, where he met a friend from Valley Falls. Since he needed to work somewhere for a year, he began sending out applications in the area, and landed the job in Pawtucket.
Things were very different back then, as Meerbott quickly discovered. Training was strictly on-the-job, and the rookie was sent to cover his first fire on his first day of employment. “Basically, I walked in off the street and on to a firetruck,” he recalled. “I was scared to death. I was told to use an air pack and I didn’t even know what one was,” he said, smiling. “But I was hooked.”
He did learn the job, and later obtained the medical training required for the ambulance service. He rose through the ranks, spending 11 years as a fire lieutenant and the past 23 as a battalion chief.
Meerbott marvels at the way the technology has changed, especially the level of medical care that those making the rescue calls can now provide. He remembers working to free victims of car wrecks before the “Jaws of Life” apparatus or hydraulic lifs were available. “We had to cut away cars with axes and crowbars,” he stated.
In his earlier days of fighting fire, Meerbott recalls, firefighters rarely used air packs--the oygen tanks that are now part of standard procedure. “We just took a beating and that was the end of it,” he said.
When asked about the highlights of his career, Meerbott said there are “too many to name.” The more dramatic incidents include a fire at Star Gas, where firefighters had to keep a steady stream of water aimed at gas tanks to keep them from exploding, and the Greenhalgh Mills fire, considered to be one of the worst in the city’s history.
When Greenhalgh Mills began burning, Meerbott was the first fire officer to arrive on the scene. With gusty winds spreading the blaze and hampering the control efforts, it was a long time before he went home, but he ended up receiving a commendation from the city for his efforts. He credits his firefighters more, however, saying that a lot more buildings in the area could have been lost if it weren’t for their hard work.

Oddly enough, Meerbott recalled, he had brought his men over to the long-empty mill complex to stage equipment for a “what if” training session only about a week of so before the spectacular fire occurred.

Meerbott also said he will never forget the experience of being at “ground zero” in New York City one day after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He and a unit of firefighters from Pawtucket drove down to help out, and he was amazed by the site of the devastation and rubble.

As a longtime leader of the Pawtucket Firefighter’s Honor Guard, Meerbott also said he was partucularly moved by group’s participation in the funeral ceremonies for the firefighters who lost their lives in the tragic Worcester mill fire. “There were 10,000 of us there, and during the three or four mile march, not a word was spoken. I’ll never forget that,” he noted.

As a battalion chief, Meerbott said he always considered it of the utmost importance to protect his firefighters. “I watched over them, almost like a father. Without them, a battalion chief is nothing. They made me look good,” he stated.

As for his retirement, Meerbott said he has had enough of the rest and relaxation that everyone told him he should enjoy. He’s not sure what lies ahead, but said he plans to find a new job.

In the meantime, he has had time this winter to indulge his favorite hobby: snowmobiling, at a friend’s house up north. He compared it to the experience of being on a fire truck. “It’s that ‘rush’ of going 100 miles per hour on a piece of plastic,” he joked.
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