Robert Gordon and Donald Stewart have been with the Puslinch Fire Department since day one.
Last weekend, members of the local community and the fire department gathered at the Aberfoyle station to honour two firefighters whose careers span the 45-year history of the Puslinch Fire Department.
The open house commemorated the retirement of both Puslinch Fire Chief Gordon and firefighter Stewart.
In 1968 Puslinch Township council started the process of forming a fire department. A fire chief was chosen and ads put in the Newspapers for volunteers to come and sign up.
Training for the eager volunteers started in September 1968 and after four months of training, they were ready to take over fire protection for Puslinch on Jan. 1, 1969.
Gordon and Stewart were there for the first call on Victoria Road south. It was a chimney fire, but the catch was there was a funeral in progress at the time. Both men agreed things have changed an awful lot since that first call.
“At the start it was mainly fighting fires,” said Stewart.
Gordon added the original department did not respond to accidents; that came later.
As to why they joined, Gordon said he saw it as a new adventure.
“And it was a way to protect your own community,” Stewart said.
Gordon added, “It’s been very interesting, there’s always something to do.”
The open house program offered highlights of the years for both Gordon and Stewart.
Firefighter John Uptegrove commented that for both Gordon and Stewart, “It was always about the community and helping neighbours.”
For Gordon, it’s also something that’s stayed in the family.
His daughter Lisa Gordon is now a full-time acting captain with the City of Vaughan Fire Department and she volunteers with the Puslinch department as well. She explained both her father and Stewart “started when the fire department began, when it was decided that Puslinch should have its own fire department.
“But how do you sum up this time in a few sentences? They are both exceptional individuals.”
Lisa explained the job “has meant leaving during the middle of Christmas dinner or in the middle of the night, or missing big events to protect our community.”
For her, she was certain where the inspiration began – “It’s just always been there, he’s been part of the fire service.”
Puslinch Deputy Fire Chief Steve Goode offered the following comments.
“Happy retirement … Chief Gordon and to Donald Stewart. Forty-five years is truly remarkable; managing one of the busiest fire departments in Ontario is not an easy task and we are sincerely going to miss you and all the fun times we’ve had – in good times and bad. All the best.”
Goode added, “They are both remarkable individuals who we are going to miss dearly. We hope that they would both pop by once in a while just to say hello.”
