Answering the call
Chester firefighter to be honoured for 50 years of active service
The siren on the roof of the Chester fire station erupted in a shrill whine on a spring day in 1972. It was grassfire season, and 20-year-old Barry Schnare quickly made his way from his home in the village to the nearby fire hall. Then, he realized as a new member of the fire department he didn't have keys to enter the building yet.
“There I stood by the hall and couldn't get in. Every second seemed like an hour until somebody got there to open the door,” the now 70-year-old Schnare said during a recent interview.
Fifty years and countless emergency calls to fires and rescue operations later, Schnare is being honoured by the Chester Volunteer Fire Department and the community for a halfcentury of active service during an event on April 10.
After gaining some experience driving a fuel truck, Schnare followed in the footsteps of his father, Doug, who served from 1941 to 1988, and his grandfather, Markus, who served from 1940 to 1958, when he became a member of the department which was founded in 1936. His mother, Mary, was one of the founders of the department auxiliary. Eventually, his two sons, Robert and Ricky, became members.
“My proudest memories would be when both of my sons joined,” Schnare said.
“There has been a Schnare on the fire department for 82 years. I'm very proud of it,” Schnare said.
Schnare has driven trucks and heavy equipment all his life, eventually retiring from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Repair. That experience became invaluable to the roles he played over his lifetime of service in the fire department.
Schnare served as a lieutenant, then captain of the engine company for more than 20 years, and two separate terms as deputy chief. However, he always enjoyed working on the
trucks as an engineer most of all.
“I'm kind of a truck guy. I really enjoy looking after the trucks, doing maintenance work on them and operating them of course,” Schnare said.
Schnare has seen a lot of changes in firefighting methods, training and equipment over the decades.
“Times have really changed since I joined,” Schnare said. “When I joined, we had a pair of rubber boots, a raincoat and a helmet. Now our bunker gear (protective clothing) is really great,” he said.
Schnare has earned the respect of colleagues in the department for leading by example and especially his effectiveness as a mentor to new members.
“I spend quite a bit of time doing pre-trip inspection with them. I get them to back into places, drive on narrow roads and turning in tight spots.
Stuff you would have to do when going to an emergency,” Schnare said.
Deputy chief Greg Conron joined the department 11 years ago.
“At that point, Barry had already had the better part of four decades in the fire service.
When I first joined, I had zero experience driving anything larger than a Honda Civic. Over the years, I've
benefited tremendously from Barry's knowledge and ability, especially with regards to driving fire apparatus,” Conron said. “And as much as I've learned from Barry over the past decade, I believe I have only scratched the surface of the knowledge and ability
Barry has to offer.”
Deputy chief Cody Stevens has known Schnare for 30 years. “I went to work at Transportation and Infrastructure Repair at 19 years old as an operator on a snowplow and you could put the knowledge I had in a teacup,” Stevens said.
“Barry took the time even back then to show me and then right along in the fire service was always there to offer his assistance
and help. Barry is definitely somebody I look up to in the department even though I am only one from the top as far as rank is concerned. But I look up to Barry for his direction and leadership and advice.”
“Barry has a unique way with people and an ability to teach them what he knows. He is a gentle soul when it comes to teaching people,” Stevens said.
Captain-chief engineer Blake Corkum has been a member for 36 years.
“I would consider him a mentor,” Corkum said of Schnare. “I have been friends with him my whole life. He is a go to guy when I need help.”
“There are people that stay in the service and get to 50 years.
There are not so many that stay active throughout. He has left a mark," Corkum said.
Corkum said Schnare is an example for new members of the department. “He has set the bar high for the other members.”
Philip Stevens has been a department member for more than 39 years and has known Barry Schnare most of his life. He is also an engineer.
“He learned a lot from other people, and he likes to share what he learned with the next generation. He is our senior go-to guy,” Stevens said.
“Last year when we had the Playhouse fire, he talked to different members about where to go for water long before we even had that call. Barry was always on top of who had a new wharf and if we could get to it easily and where to set up. He helped everybody figure it out,” Stevens said.
“He devoted a lot of time. His family devoted a lot of time over the years. It reflects on how people look up to him today.”
“He missed a lot of hot meals when that fire siren would go off at mealtime. But he enjoyed doing it,” Schnare’s wife Wendy, who served in the fire department auxiliary for more than 20 years, remembers.
“He never thought twice about leaving on Christmas Day to go to a fire. Or we were someplace to a party, or someone was here — he used to just get up and leave. But then of course there also were other firefighters here so they all left,” she said.
She said she is proud that her husband and their sons served the community together in the fire service. “I think it was instilled in them that this was something you should do, give back to our community by being on the fire department,” she said.