‘Consummate professional’ fire chief dies battling blaze
A Western Massachusetts fire chief described as the “consummate professional” was battling a two-alarm chimney fire with his firefighter son by his side when he collapsed and died yesterday, a fellow chief from a neighboring town told the Herald.
Chief Stephen P. Frye, 59, collapsed fighting the fire on Southampton Road in Montgomery Tuesday night after a call for a chimney fire came in at about 11:08 p.m., according to Department of Fire Safety spokeswoman Jennifer Mieth.
“The concern, clearly, is for his family,” Easthampton fire Chief David A. Motter said. “His son was on the hose line with his father when he collapsed. It’s a tight-knit family, they all live on the same street.”
Frye was rushed to nearby Bay State Noble Hospital in Westfield, where he was pronounced dead, Mieth said.
He had worked with the Montgomery Fire Department since 1993 and served as chief for the past 13 years, Mieth said. He is survived by his wife and two adult children, a son and a daughter.
“He was the best, he was the absolute best, you couldn’t ask for a better person,” said a woman who identified herself as Frye’s sister-in-law and said the family is devastated by the loss. “He would give you the shirt off his back, he was the best of the best of the best.”
Motter said he worked with Frye last year on an unusual midwinter brush fire and said the neighboring chief’s only concern was for the safety of residents of Montgomery, a town of fewer than 1,000 residents located near Springfield.
“He was a consummate professional,” Motter said. “He wanted to make sure the right message got out to residents and you could see how well-respected he was in the town.”
The fire destroyed the home, but the residents inside were able to escape unharmed, Mieth said, adding an investigation determined the blaze to be an accidental chimney fire.
Frye’s is the second fire-related firefighter death this year. Watertown firefighter Joseph A. Toscano died fighting a fire in that town last March.