Page 6 - SEPT2025

Page 6 NEWFOUNDLAKELIFE.COM September 2025 Community
Bridgewater Fire Brigade Marks Half a Century of Service
By Donna rhoDes
On August 16th the men and women of Bridgewater Fire Brigade polished up their equip- ment, threw open their doors, and with plenty of food, fun and educational activities in place, invited the public to join them in celebrating their 50 years of service to the town beginning in August of 1975.
Deputy Chief/EMS Direc- tor Jake Fogarty welcomed the crowd as the party kicked off that day, beginning with an ex- planation of why they are called Bridgewater Fire Brigade. It turns out that the name “Bridge- water Fire Department” was confusing when they teamed up for calls with the Bristol Fire De- partment. Since turnout gear is typically marked with the initials of each department, “BFD” in
this case, when Bridgewater and Bristol departments were called on to assist each other, it was difficult to tell which crew they were from. Being the newer de- partment, Bridgewater remedied that problem by taking the name
“Bridgewater Fire Brigade.” During his remarks, Fogarty also introduced original charter members who were in atten- dance then brought forth retired
BFB chief Andrew Denton. Denton thanked the large
crowd of supporters who came out for the celebration and told them, “One of the things I loved was the real strong support of the community.”
He also praised the depart- ment’s twenty-seven members
for their dedication and service, especially his successor, Chief Donald Atwood.
“There was no one I trusted more to stand in for me than him,” he said.
Fogarty then had Atwood join Denton and himself at the podium. The chief is the last active member of the crew that began BFB in 1975, and he was recognized with a special Service Award plaque for his five decades of dedication to the department.
Fogarty also brought out a large brick, engraved in honor of Atwood, that will soon be placed on the brick patio in front of the N.H. Fallen Firefighters Memo- rial in Concord. It read, “Bridge- water FD Honoring 50 Years of Service Chief Donald Atwood, 2025.”
“Impressive and well-de- served,” one retired firefighter said, as many others came for- ward to thank and praise the chief.
From there, all the activities officially got underway.
Children enjoyed visiting with Peter Donovan of N.H. Division of Forests and Lands to use a hose to knock down flame panels painted on a wooden tree. Don- ovan is the retired Assistant Fire Chief from Berlin and was happy to take part in Bridgewater’s cel- ebration where he could meet with both children and adults alike.
“This is pretty important, ed- ucation is important. It’s the best way to prevent fires from hap- pening,” Donovan said.
Inside the department’s train- ing room were members of the
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