Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Most Worshipful Brother Kenneth Clay, a state Scottish Rite Freemasons official, reads the certificate presented to Dr. Brian Sweeney, center, St. Joseph Hospital medical staff president, and hospital vice president Kevin Flynn, of and Kevin Flynn, during last week's special program the Freemasons hosted to honor first-responders and medical professionals. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

NASHUA – When Nashua incorporated as an official city on New Years Day 1837, fire prevention measurers were all but non-existent, and likewise, where, and when, fires broke out was mainly left to chance – and a lot of good luck.

Right away, the leadership of the newly-minted municipality recognized the danger of such a situation, and nine months later, on Sept. 1, 1837, a group of civic-minded men with a desire to help others organized Nashua’s first municipal fire

department.

“Before that, the safety of the community was left to chance,” Nashua Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Steve Buxton told a group of Scottish Rite Freemasons and guests at a special dinner program last week.

Although the methods have changed, improved and advanced exponentially over the ensuing 185 years, firefighters’ core focus remains pretty much the same: To save lives, and to prevent the spread of fire, Buxton said.

Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Jason Preston, center, a paramedic with AMR ambulance service, was among the first-responders honored at the Valley of Nashua Scottish Rite Freemasons' program last week. With him are, from left, state commander in chief Gary Roy, Most Worshipful Brother Kenneth Clay, state Grand Master David Collins, and Thrice Potent Master Adam Freiband. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

The veteran Nashua firefighter, whose family has been involved in both the fire service and Freemasonry for several generations, was one of several speakers at the event, which took place in the third-floor meeting rooms of the Masonic Temple on Main Street.

“This is a great time to thank everyone for what they do,” Grand Master David S. Collins said, referring to local first-responders representing fire and police departments, emergency medical services as well as medical professionals.

The program was part of a wider initiative by the Scottish Rite Freemasons “to memorialize the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on our country, as well as to honor those who have worked to keep our families safe during the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to Lisa Proulx, a spokeswoman for the Valley of Nashua, one of the Scottish Rite’s five regions in New Hampshire.

In addition to tracing the history of the Nashua Fire Department – which was renamed Nashua Fire Rescue in the 1980s to more accurately reflect members’ new roles as medical first-responders – Buxton noted local firefighters’ roles in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

“Some of our members were activated as part of a national response” to Ground Zero, who, he said, joined fellow first-responders from across the nation who “spent months supporting them and going to funerals” of the hundreds of first-responders killed in the attacks.

Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Paul E. Roy, right, commander in chief of the New Hampshire Consistory of the Scottish Rite Freemasons, greets Nashua Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Steve Buxton with a thank-you handshake during the local Freemasons' special program to pay tribute to local first-responders. Center is the Consistory's Grand Master, David S. Collins. (Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP)

Another speaker, David Walters, a 32nd degree Mason, retired Auburn fire captain and 20-year Air Force veteran, recalled in his remarks the chance event that inspired his decision to pursue a career that followed his passion to help others.

A teenager at the time, Walters was walking home from school with friends one day, taking a route that involved cutting across a golf course.

A commotion caught Walters’s attention, he said: A boy had fallen through thin ice covering a pond.

“Without thinking, I jumped in and pulled him out,” Walters told the gathering.

The boy couldn’t swim, Walters recalled, and it was then that he knew he was destined for a career – or as it turned out, careers – that focused on helping people.

“He was OK … his mother was very pleased,” Walters said with a smile.

Also recognized during the program were medics with Nashua’s AMR ambulance service, who were represented by paramedic Jason Preston, and Dr. Brian Sweeney and Kevin Flynn, representing St. Joseph Hospital.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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