Dean Shalhoup

About a year ago, Nashua native Gary Ledoux, the man behind the Facebook group “Nostalgic Nashua NH” who prides himself on either knowing, or finding out, the answers to questions longtime local folks often throw his way, finally met his match.

It came in the form of “a few questions about the (former) Nashua Fire Department and (current) Nashua Fire Rescue that nobody (including him) could answer,” according to Ledoux.

A resourceful researcher, Ledoux figured all he needed to do was put his hands on some type of written history of the department and the answers he was seeking – and plenty more – would jump from the pages.

That task would surely be a cinch, Ledoux mused, given that the firefighting profession is deeply steeped in tradition, and therefore rich in all kinds of historical accounts from loose pages stored in boxes to professionally crafted coffee table books rife with photographs and anecdotes going back to the “bucket-brigade” era when turning in “an alarm of fire” consisted of someone hollering “fire! help! fire!” at the top of their lungs.

So Ledoux looked around, confident it wouldn’t take much time or effort to come up with some type of historic accounts of firefighting in Nashua.

"Song of the Thinman" was playing at the former Park Theater until a general alarm fire struck the block at Main Street and Pearson Avenue in the 1940s. Similiar images of Nashua fires are published in Gary Ledoux's new book.

“It seemed that something must have been done at some point, given that the department is 200 years old,” Ledoux said.

But alas, the closest thing to a written history he could find was “a very short history written in 1936, but it was never published,” he said.

That’s when Ledoux – who as a young man set his sights on joining the then-Nashua Fire Department in the early 70s but fell short of passing the physical height requirement – began digging deeper, which led him to collections of historical information about the department amassed over the years by several current and retired Nashua firefighters and a retired deputy chief from Hudson.

Quite familiar with the book-publishing industry after having published five books over the years, Ledoux said he wanted to turn all that really neat information into a book, which he would title “Nashua’s Bravest: The History of Firefighting in Nashua NH.”

“I saw it as a need that had to be fulfilled,” Ledoux said of the 365-page book that features 90 photos and illustrations and represents “more than 900 hours” spent reviewing some 7,800 archived newspaper articles and a stack of original fire department log books.

“After seeing all the hard work that had already been done, and knowing what it takes to turn all that disparate information into a book, I decided to take on the challenge,” Ledoux said.

As is often the case when one sets out on such a mission, Ledoux said he “knew this book could have easily been 1,000 pages or more,” which prompted him to “pare it down to the fires, or events, that would be of particular interest to Nashuans.”

“Bits and pieces of Nashua’s civic and commercial history intertwined throughout the book “give a sense of the relationship between the fire department and the city’s populace, and show how the department grew with the city,” Ledoux said.

Some of the snippets he shared from the book:

• Nashua’s first three pieces of fire apparatus were not even purchased by the city. Where they came from is revealed in “Nashua’s Bravest.”

• Nashua today has six fire stations. What is largely unknown, however, is that Nashua once had several other stations, sometimes called “fire storage properties.” Where they were located, their names, and what happened to them are listed in the book.

• On Sept. 26, 1925, a new Arlington Street Fire Station – the second station built on that site – opened. It was unique, and different from every other Nashua station before and since. The reason why is in the book.

• In October 1973, a valuable piece of Nashua Fire Department property was stolen from a most unlikely place by the most daring of perpetrators, leading to a multi-state, multi-law enforcement agency manhunt. “Nashua’s Bravest” has the details.

•••

Nashua native publishes history of local firefighting

Gary Ledoux, a Nashua native and former Amherst firefighter who went on to a 48-year career in the automotive industry in Florida and California, has released his newest book, “Nashua’s Bravest: The History of Firefighting in Nashua NH.”

The 365-page paperback book highlights significant fires, events and anecdotal accounts of Nashua’s firefighting history.

For more information and to purchase the book, go to https://store.bookbaby.com/book/Nashuas-Bravest-The-History-of-Firefighting-in-Nashua-NH, or store.bookbaby.com and search “Gary Ledoux” or “Nashua’s Bravest.”

Dean Shalhoup’s column appears weekly in The Sunday Telegraph. He may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.