CAREER FULFILLED
City firefighter Thomas Blake III retires after 27 years
TROY, N.Y. » After 27 years as a Troy firefighter, at 55, Thomas Blake III is calling it a career. The Blake name is synonymous with generations of public service to the Collar City.
“My great grandfather was a policeman in Troy, my grandfather was a policeman in Troy, I became a fireman and my son’s a fireman, so we kept it in the family,” Blake III remarked on the long line of service to the City of Troy.
Troy Fire Chief Eric McMahon also spoke to that generational lineage of service to the residents of Troy.
“His dad was a Troy cop for if I’m not mistaken I believe over 40 years. He has a brother who’s a firefighter, his son is a firefighter. It’s just real difficult to replace that dedication,” McMahon said.
McMahon also noted how much the Troy Fire Department will miss having Blake and his years of experience.
“You know, he’s a rock solid guy. He’s got 27 years on the job, just fantastic at his job and it’ll certainly be a loss for the department,” McMahon said.
“Guys like him are difficult to replace with his knowledge and his skills and just his general attitude for the job,” McMahon continued.
“He absolutely is going to be missed, it’ll be difficult to replace him,” McMahon added.
Blake III, has spent 16 years working out of Station 6, and has also worked out of Lansingburgh and Station 2 along the way as well.
“I always enjoyed this house the most. This was definitely the house for me,” Blake III commented on his time at Station 6.
Blake III added one of the things he’ll miss the most is that camaraderie with his fellow firefighters.
“Definitely going to miss the guys the most, we have a good working relationship, and every shift too, every crew,” Blake III noted on decades of friendships made.
“Every guy that leaves, no matter what rank they are, no matter how long they were on, most of them miss the camaraderie, miss the interactions with the guys and that’s completely understandable. It’s definitely a great career and he definitely made the most of it,” McMahon added.
Blake III also spoke to what has changed the most since he first joined the ranks of the fire department nearly three decades ago.
“It’s changed, definitely busier, call volume is definitely busier. We do a lot of fires down here. We basically back up headquarters, the rescue squad. We team up with them on all hazmat calls, rope rescue, the gorge calls. We pretty much get all of the training that headquarters gets and the rescue squad,” Blake III commented on the job.
“It’s been great, it’s been a great job, it really has, gonna miss it a lot,” Blake III added.
While Blake III is still exploring options for the next stage of his life, he’ll be sure to catch up on some shuteye for starters.
“Maybe a full night’s sleep would be good,” Blake III added.