Local firefighters pay tribute to the fallen

BURRILLVILLE – Sharon A. Jenks, the wife of fallen Pascoag firefighter Richard A. Jenks, thought she knew everything there was to know about her late husband.

But the one thing she didn’t know was just how respected and loved he was by his fellow firefighters and the community at large.

Lt. Jenks, a 33-year veteran of the Pascoag Fire Department, died Feb. 14 after collapsing at the scene of a chimney fire on Hill Road in Pascoag. He was 72.

The death of Lt. Jenks was the first line-of-duty death in the 114-year history of the Pascoag Fire Department, and only the second in the history of the fire service in Burrillville, which has four other fire

companies.

“It wasn’t until after Richard died that we realized just what kind of impact he had on so many people,” says his wife, herself a 28-year veteran of the Pascoag Fire Department.

Jenks says that realization hit home during and after her husband’s memorial service on Feb. 18, which was attended by hundreds of firefighters, law enforcement and residents from throughout Rhode Island who came to pay their final respects.

That outpouring of love and respect was on display again Friday morning when dozens of firefighters representing the four fire districts gathered at Firefighters Memorial Park in Harrisville to dedicate a plaque and plant a special tree in honor of Jenks and the late Lawrence “Larry” F. Gingell, Sr., a Harrisville firefighter who died in the line of duty on Jan. 30, 1986.

Attending the ceremony were members of Jenks’ family, who helped plant the fourfoot ornamental plum tree, as well as Gingell’s son, Harrisville Fire Chief Michael Gingell, and his daughter, Amanda Gingell.

Also attending were several veterans and longtime Burrillville educator and coach George P. Ducharme who worked for the school district for 63 years and was a part time volunteer firefighter in Harrisville.

Burrillville Chief of Police Colonel Stephen J. Lynch, who read aloud the inscription on the plaque, was also on hand along with Police Major Dennis Leahey.

There were also representatives from the Pascoag Utility District, including General Manager Michael Kirkwood and Assistant General Manager William Guertin (Jenks was employed as a lineman for the Pascoag Utility District for 41 years and served as an elected member of the Pascoag Board of Utility Commissioners).

The idea for the ceremony came from veteran Harrisville Firefighter Brian Fournier, who works for a trade marketing company that asks its employees every spring to do an Earth Day-related community service project. Fournier said he chose to plant a tree around a memorial plaque at the park to honor the town’s two fallen firefighters.

“This tree will bloom every spring and will grow to about 20 feet, which will provide shade for the bench that’s already in the park,” he said. “It’s a way for people remember them.”

“The tree shows strength and life, which is what these two guys were all about,” said Chief Gingell, whose father was only 54 when he died in the line of duty in 1986. Gingell had responded to Harrisville Mill Pond for a report of a dog fallen through the ice. Gingell collapsed at the water’s edge as firefighters were launching the rescue boat.

Jenks was one of several firefighters who arrived on scene for an early morning fire at a single-family log cabin-style home set back in the woods on Hill Road in Pascoag. Jenks collapsed outside the home after tripping and falling inside. Jenks was helped up by his fellow firefighters and brought outside to be checked out by EMTs. Jenks wanted to go back inside to help fight the fire, but he then collapsed.

CPR was performed on Jenks at the scene before he was taken by ambulance to Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket where he was pronounced dead.

Jenks first joined the ranks of the Pascoag Fire Department in June 1970 at the age of 25 through membership in Pascoag Hose Company #2. Between 1970 and 1988, he served for a total of 13 years with that Company, after which time he re-affiliated to the ranks of Pascoag Hose Company #1. Between 1989 and 2018 he served a total of 20 active years in Hose Company #1 alongside his wife, Sharon, until his passing.

Most recently Jenks served as the departmental safety officer, holding the rank of lieutenant.

Lt. Jenks was also a member of the United States Air Force from 1964 to 1968, serving at the rank of sergeant. He was a member of the Rhode Island Air National Guard from 1978 to 2005, retiring at the rank of master sergeant. He served in deployments to Vietnam, Thailand, Kuwait, and southwest and southeast Asia.

“I’m so lost because we did everything together,” Sharon Jenks said just before Friday’s ceremony. “He had such a strong will and was always busy doing something. We miss him terribly and we are so appreciative of everything the fire departments and the community have done to honor him.”

Ernest A. Brown photo Family members of Richard Jenks, a Burrillville firefighter who died in the line of duty, from left, his son, Greg Jenks, daughter Wendy Jenks, Molly Garland, and Richard’s wife Sharon Jenks, look over a memorial plaque at the Harrisville fire station Friday morning prior to a dedication and tree planting ceremony at the Firefighter’s Memorial Park across the street.

Ernest A. Brown photo Burrillville Police Chief Colonel Stephen J. Lynch, far left, joins family and friends of the Burrillville Fire Department during a tree planting and plaque dedication ceremony at Firefighter’s Memorial Park in Harrisville Friday morning.

Ernest A. Brown photo Burrillville firefighter Brian Fournier, center, digs a hole during a tree planting and plaque dedication ceremony for fallen firefighters Richard Jenks and Larry Gingell, who died in the line of duty, at Firefighter’s Memorial Park across from the Harrisville Fire Station in Burrillville Friday morning.