Springfield firefighter tells the story of his life and career
Robert Marchisello is the author of ‘A Firefighter’s Journal, 37 years on the Firegrounds and in the Firehouses of Philadelphia’
“People think firefighters are like robots in the background of a ‘Die Hard’ movie, or other action movie, that they just do their job don’t have any feelings. But we are human and we have emotions, regrets and second-guess ourselves.” — Retired Deputy Chief Robert Marchisello
SPRINGFIELD » Retired Deputy Chief Robert Marchisello kept a journal during his 37-year career as a Philadelphia firefighter, which he thought he would leave for his children to read. However, with the encouragement from his family and friends, he published a book about his career.
He transcribed some of his journal entries written in pencil and asked others to read it. His family and fellow firefighters encouraged him to turn it into a novel. He used his journals as reference and it brought back memories.
“There were times I got tears in my eyes when I read them. Sometimes I had sleepless nights remembering incidents. You see some horrible things as a firefighter,” said Marchisello, a Springfield resident. “When I started writing the journals, I did it for posterity, not because I intended to go back and read them.”
When other firefighters read it, they thought it showed people what it was really like to be a firefighter. They felt they were reading about their own careers because of how he described his experiences.
“People think firefighters are like robots in the background of a ‘Die Hard’ movie, or other action
movie, that they just do their job don’t have any feelings,” Marchisello said. “But we are human and we have emotions, regrets and second-guess ourselves.”
After trying other careers, he pursued his childhood dream of becoming a city firefighter. But the Philadelphia Fire Department was not accepting applications at the time. As he waited for a hiring period, he studied for months and took the test in 1972. He learned it was a competitive field involving one of the hardest civil tests. He was hired and graduated from the Philadelphia Fire Academy in June 1973 with the 141st class.
His career started at Ladder 19, but he wanted to serve with an engine company, so he transferred to Engine 24, where he gained the experience he sought.
“That’s where I really learned to become a firefighter,” Marchisello said.
He has a scrapbook full of newspaper articles about the incidents to which he responded, and photos of himself with other firefighters and of the firehouses where he served. Of the journal entries he wrote throughout his career, he included some of the unique incidents in his novel, such as being caught in the middle of a deadly gunfight and retrieving decomposing bodies. He wants people to know that firefighters do more than battle fires.
Marchisello transferred to the city’s Hazardous Materials Unit where he earned his nickname “HazMat Bob.” He now works part-time for Delaware County Emergency Services as a hazardous materials specialist.
He rose through the ranks and he was one of seven from his graduating class to become a battalion chief and one of three to become a deputy chief.
“There’s a lot of pressure that goes with command,” said Marchisello, who was promoted to battalion chief in December 1996. “When you’re a firefighter, you’re responsible for yourself. When you’re a lieutenant or a captain, you’re responsible for your company. But as battalion chief, the number of firefighters that you’re responsible for gets much bigger.”
The decisions become bigger too. During one of his early calls as acting battalion chief, Marchisello had command overseeing an incident. He told another officer who outranked him that he was going to evacuate the crews and strike a second-alarm for additional resources. The officer advised him to wait until they could put more water on the fire.
“It looked like an ordinary building fire, but something didn’t feel right,” said Marchisello, adding that the fireballs coming from the building reminded him of a refinery fire.
Trusting his gut and what he saw, he radioed the companies and demanded an immediate evacuation. Soon after they exited, the building collapsed. The firefighters thanked him for making a call that saved their lives, and the other officer commended Marchisello for having the wherewithal to read the fire.
Like any chief officer serving as command, he never wanted to lose a firefighter. During his career, 43 Philadelphia firefighters died in the line of duty. With 11 battalion chiefs on a shift, covering four shifts, he realized his chances were one in 44 that if there was a line-of-duty-death, it would occur on his shift.
“I started thinking in those terms and when I became deputy chief, my chances were one in eight that it would be on my shift and it would be one of my firefighters,” said Marchisello, who was promoted in November 2007. “I was really nervous toward the end, even my last night shift. When the sun came up on my last morning in the firehouse, I felt like I made it, I didn’t lose anyone. For that I will be eternally grateful. I know officers who did lose firefighters and they couldn’t live with themselves or were never really the same afterward or had to retire.”
Such tragedies occurred before the development of Critical Incident Stress Management and the Philadelphia Fire Department developed a peer counseling unit around 1985. He had responded to the Gulf Oil Refinery fire in 1975 where eight firefighters were killed, including one of his close friends.
“The shift was over, we went home. There was no CISM. You were just expected to handle it,” Marchisello said, “and they found that that’s not the best way to do things.”
Now CISM is available at firehouses following the death of a civilian or firefighter.
Many of the stories throughout the book are humorous and he describes the pranks that firefighters would play, especially on the newest members. He also makes fun of himself, as he aged in a “young person’s” job.
“You need to have a sense of humor for this kind of job,” Marchisello said.
His wife, Diane Marchisello, initially helped edit his book and thinks writing helped ease him into retirement.
“Being a professional firefighter is a way of life, not a job,” Diane said. “When a career firefighter retires, that huge, it’s a life-changing event for them.”
It also gave her more insight into his job. He didn’t always tell her about the incidents, but sometimes she could tell something happened when he had tears in his eyes or when he came home smelling of smoke. She always listened to the scanner when he worked.
“Although I had to get up early to get the kids to school and go to work, I would sit on the bed and listen to the scanner, because it always seemed like the worst things happened at night. I would know if he had a job (working building fire),” Diane Marchisello said. “He didn’t always tell me just how bad things got so some incidents I learned about for the first time when I was proofreading the book.”
The book, entitled “A Firefighter’s Journal, 37 years on the Firegrounds and in the Firehouses of Philadelphia” by Robert John Marchisello, is available at Amazon.com.
“I was really nervous toward the end, even my last night shift. When the sun came up on my last morning in the firehouse, I felt like I made it, I didn’t lose anyone. For that I will be eternally grateful. I know officers who did lose firefighters and they couldn’t live with themselves or were never really the same afterward or had to retire.” — Retired Deputy Chief Robert Marchisello