By Janice Gregorson
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN
Some Rochester firefighters might have been holding their breath a little Wednesday.
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Rick Lovett
Age 53
30 years in Rochester Fire Deparment
Battalion Chief, Shift 1
Son, Tom, is third generation firefighter for Rochester |
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It was Rick Lovett's last day on duty, and they were bracing for the possibility that something big, something weird or something unusual would happen.
Instead, at 5 p.m., the emergency dispatcher broadcast a thanks and farewell announcement for Lovett on his retirement day.
Lovett concedes that in his 30-year-career with the Rochester Fire Department, his shift has seen more than its fair share of major or unique incidents.
He quips that if there is a major gas leak or explosion, for example, people tease him that they don't check to see if there is a full moon. They check to see if his shift is on duty.
Lovett is one of three battalion commanders for the Rochester Fire Department, supervising firefighters on duty and responding to calls during that 24-hour shift. He also is a second-generation firefighter with the local department. His son, Tom, joined the department a couple of years ago, becoming the first local third-generation firefighter.
'A Young person's job'
While only 53, Lovett said it is time to retire.
"It really is a young person's job," he said while riding to yet another commercial fire alarm call Wednesday morning. He said that on average, firefighters retire by age 55 due to the nature of the work.
Firefighters work 24-hour shifts and live and sleep at the station when on duty. When the alarm rings, it drowns out everything in the fire station. At night, the lights automatically come on. Earlier this week, Lovett said, there were nine fire calls after midnight.
As battalion commander, he goes out to every fire call, directing and overseeing the response.
"It's been a really rewarding career," he said duing a quiet moment Wednesday.
Helping people
Lovett has spent his firefighting career in Rochester and still doesn't know what the lure was other than seeing how content his dad was in a job "helping people on the worst day of their lives."
A vivid memory for Lovett is being involved in the rescue of a 70-year-old Rochester man who had come in contact with an 8,000-volt power line. The man had been driving past the Rochester school district's Educational Services Center at 334 16th St. S.E. on Sept. 23, 1997, when he spotted a small fire that started when a downed power line touched a natural gas vent on the outside of the building. The man was electrocuted after warning people inside the building.
Lovett said fire crews had to deal with the fire, a natural gas leak and a man being electrocuted and caught in a downed wire. The man survived. Lovett said that years later, the man came by the fire station to thank the crew.
"It's things like that that are rewarding," Lovett said.
Changing equipment, technology
Much has changed since the days his father, Bob, was a firefighter, and even since Lovett himself joined the department in 1979.
There were no cellphones. There were no computers.
Today, there are computers in every vehicle that allow firefighters to get information about a building before they arrive. Today, there is a fully-loaded command vehicle for city and county first responders.
The Rochester Fire Department is a regional hazardous materials response team, capable of dealing with incidents anywhere in southern Minnesota. Lovett was involved in developing the local program. He also was instrumental in a program to get every firefighter certified as an emergency medical technician.
Fire Chief Greg Martin calls the Rochester department a full service fire department that handles fire prevention and suppression, emergency medical services, technical rescues and hazardous materials mitigation.
Lovett has seen most of those changes during his career.
"We have come a long ways," he said.
Lovett has no immediate plans. "I'm retiring," he emphasizes.
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