The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Like mother, like son
Recruit among rare instances of such relatives in field
MIDDLETOWN — Middletown’s newest fire recruit comes from a family of firefighters, joining a remarkable number of relatives who serve among the city’s four districts.
Even more uniquely, Owen Andrew’s mother, Mary, who will retire next month after 28 years in the department, works in the very same force. In fact, Fire Chief Robert Kronenberger said, the pair are among very few mothers and sons serving in the same unit throughout Connecticut, and “it could go deeper than that,” he said, referring to a rare situation nationwide.
Owen’s grandfather Ross was a longtime member of the volunteer Westfield Fire District and commissioner who still serves on that station’s Telecommunications Commission. His father, Dana, is chief mechanic and fire officer in that same section of the city.
“We’ve had many relatives working in this department: fathers and sons, brothers, cousins,” Kronenberger said. Mother, and son Andrew, who has “firefighting in his blood,” are unique in Connecticut, he said.
Mary Andrew is staying “just long enough to pass the torch.”
Firefighters from the downtown, South District and Westfield stations, family, friends and co-workers packed a room in the basement of the Main Street headquarters, where Owen Andrew was sworn in. The crowded room created an atmosphere of intimacy appropriate for the brief ceremony.
“(Owen, 21,) comes to us with a lot of experience within the city,” said Kronenberger, including his years of volunteering and working in Westfield.
He joins the Hunt brothers, former deputy chief Steve LaRosa and his son Sebby, former South District chief Robert Ross and his brother Steve, brothers Barrett and Salvatore Cretella (the latter recently retired) and twins James and Patrick Ehman as family members in the department.
When Owen Andrew, who wanted to go into the fire service since 15, interviewed with Kronenberger and other officials, “he blew us away,” the chief said of the lifelong resident and 2016 Middletown High School grad.
“(At the academy), he showed motivation, positive work habits, and positive direction for the duration of the class,” Kronenberger added.
As evidence of the often close-knit crews within the city’s districts, the chief went to school with Mary Andrew and has known her all his life.
The young recruit, assigned to Platoon 1 at the Cross Street station, spoke briefly, saying he looks forward to serving the department for years to come. He completed just a semester at Capital Community College in Hartford, studying fire science.
“Things weren’t working out. They canceled classes for low enrollment. I figured I’d take a different route,” he said.
“The family is remarkable,” Kronenberger said, calling Mary Andrew “the torchbearer for other female firefighters” in the city. Two additional female firefighters, Margo Marie Murphy and Tiffany Nuendorf, have served the city for the past two years.
When it came time for photos during the ceremony, mother and son beamed with pride.
Mary Andrew started out in Middletown as an EMS. Her decision to leave the profession was a tough one.
“You want to stay, but there’s a time when you need to realize it’s time (to go),” she said about retiring. She works a different 24hour shift in Platoon 3.
She was hardly surprised her son pursued the same career as his grandfather, father and her.
“We have talked in our house about the fire service since the day he was born, so he knows the ins and outs,” she said. “He’s heard all the stories. He’s pretty well-prepared. I didn’t have to help him too much.”