Robert Fish, former firefighter and dedicated volunteer, dies at 56
BROOKFIELD — From age 16 on, Robert Olindo Fish could be found helping on the scene of fires in the Danbury area.
Even after leaving active firefighter duty, he still returned, capturing the incidents on camera. It’s a sign of how committed he was to the local fire service community, his peers say.
Fish, a longtime member of the Brookfield Volunteer Fire Department’s Candlewood Company died Sunday, three days shy of his 57th birthday.
“He was a very big advocate for the fire service and was always looking out for people,” said Danbury’s deputy fire chief, Bernie Meehan, who knew Fish for a long time and described him as an avid fire service supporter.
Fish came from a line of firefighters — his father served with the Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department for 40 years, and his grandfather had also been a firefighter. Following in their footsteps, he joined the Brookfield Volunteer Fire Department’s Candlewood Company in 1981.
“He started as a probationary junior firefighter because he was 16,” said
Candlewood Company Chief Gary Gramling. “He did his year and became a junior firefighter at 17, and then an active member, regular firefighter when he was 18.”
During his three decades with Candlewood Company, Fish held various roles — including engineer, lieutenant, secretary and vicepresident — and helped design some of Brookfield’s engines and rescue trucks as a member of the fire department’s apparatus replacement committees.
He also earned State of Connecticut Firefighter II and Medical Response Technician certifications, and received the Roger Potter Engineer of the Year Award in 2003.
After stepping away from active firefighter duty due to health issues around 2013, Fish remained active in the fire service community as a photographer.
Meehan said Fish would show up to a lot of fires he was commanding in Danbury and ask if he could take photos.
“He was always very polite and respectful, and most of the time I’d let him under the barrier tape,” Meehan said. “He always got good pictures.”
In 2018, Fish was inducted as a life member of Brookfield’s
Candlewood Company — something Gramling said rarely happens.
“We don’t bestow that upon everybody who leaves, but he was a very active member,” Gramling said, noting that Fish served in executive positions, line officer positions and participated in several fire department committees. “He was a very involved and dedicated volunteer.”
Fish was also an active participant in fire department parades and played in a firefighters’ softball league and on bowling teams during his time with Candlewood Company.
“Rob loved the fire service and truly showed that love while in this fire company,” according to a post on the Candlewood Company’s Facebook page. “Rob left us way too soon at the age of 56, but his memory will live on and the mark he left here at Candlewood Company will remain forever.”
A memorial service with family and friends will be held Saturday at the JowdyKane Funeral Home in Danbury, followed by a private interment service.