'You go and do your job and get out': Volunteer firefighter has been with N.B. department for 60 years
CTV
A New Brunswick man has been a volunteer firefighter for 60 years.
For the first two decades of his volunteer fire service career, Tom Burley says they just wore everyday clothes as they ran into structure fires.
He says the Norton Fire Department in New Brunswick was outfitted with a rain jacket-like coat and rubber boots in the late 1980s.
He recalls those first uniforms cost about $159. Today, the firefighting gear – helmet, boots, pants and jacket – can cost more than $3,000.
This year, Burley is celebrating 60 years as a volunteer with the department, and can say with conviction the job has changed.
“When I first started, we might get like, 10 calls a year, and now we're up to 80 so far this year,” he said. “But when I started, we done fires. We didn't do motor vehicle accidents or anything like that. And now we do motor vehicle accidents, medical calls and a lot more put on the plate.”
Burley says it’s in his blood. His father was a firefighter. His son and daughter have just celebrated 30 and 25 years, respectively, as volunteer firefighters.
