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Laware ends 38-year career

Cpt. Erving Laware, Cpt. Bill DiCarlo (Ludlow), Chief Fran Nothe, Cpt. Nick Yarmac celebrate Laware's last shift at the Wilbraham Fire Department. Reminder Publications photo by Courtney Llewellyn
By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



WILBRAHAM Retiring on a Thursday means one thing a three-day weekend that lasts a long time. Firefighter Captain Erving Laware retired from the Wilbraham Fire Department Sept. 20 with a smile on his face.

During an informal party at the fire department headquarters on Boston Road, a call came in for a response to a motor vehicle accident in Hampden. Laware looked like he was ready to go, but other members of the crew responded.

"I love going out and doing this job," Laware said. "I'm going to miss riding in the truck and yelling at people," he joked.

Laware began his firefighting career in 1967 as an auxiliary firefighter while attending the Hampden College of Pharmacy in Chicopee. After transferring to Springfield Technical Community College, he became a call firefighter at the age of 19 and used his salary to pay for tuition.

In 1979, he was promoted to a lieutenant's position. Laware became a captain in 1993. The next position he could have advanced to was chief, but he decided to leave that up to the current fire chief, Fran Nothe. "He has to make decisions over a period of weeks," Laware said. "Out there, I make decisions for the next 20 minutes."

The small group of friends and co-workers that stopped by headquarters to say goodbye to Laware bore nothing but grins and filled the firehouse with reminiscent laughter.

"What he's done is something to be proud of," Laware's son, American International College student Eric said. "He really knew how to do his job, and he knew the difference between being smart and being brave."

Dispatcher Shirley Rae said she's going to miss Laware's nice, calm voice the most. "I've worked with him 27 years," Rae said. "It's going to be a loss because he has so much experience and common sense, but I know everything is going to work out."

Both Laware and Fire Commissioner Brad Pinney came onto the force as privates, and both have retired as captains. Pinney retired more than a decade ago, however.

"It was perfect working with him," Pinney said. "He's a true firefighter in every sense of the word. He worked for the department and the people of this town." Pinney, Nothe, Laware and Karl Nelson, who is retiring in November, all came on together. "We were a young department for years and we stayed together," Pinney said. "Then, before we knew it, 30 years had passed."

After 38 years as a firefighter, Laware said that it is time to slow down. He currently has a part-time job at Home Depot and once in a while, he'll find himself giving his supervisor commands. "Once an officer, always an officer," he joked. "It's going to be a long time before I can change that mindset."

Looking back, Laware said that there is nothing he regrets about being a firefighter. "It was having a career versus making money," he said. "I do kind of wish I'd made more money," he laughed.

An official retirement party for Cpt. Laware will be held sometime in December.