By David Pepose
The Berkshire Eagle
OTIS, Mass. — Members of the Otis Fire Department are mourning one of their own — a firefighter who passed away just hours after helping to battle a structure fire.
David Sullivan, 70, died at his Otis home late Saturday night shortly after helping colleagues from across the region put out a burning residence in Tolland.
Colleagues said they believed Sullivan suffered a heart attack.
“He was a friend, as well as fellow firefighter, for over 30 years,” said Otis Fire Chief Gordon S. Pinkham. “Dave didn t have a bad bone in his body.”
Pinkham said that Sullivan joined firefighters on Saturday evening from Tolland, Sandisfield, Granville, Blandford and Norfolk, Conn., directing traffic, filling air bottles and maneuvering fire trucks.
Following the blaze, Pinkham added, Sullivan socialized with some friends before going to his home on Moreau Road to clean up and enjoy a quick meal. He was found dead the following morning.
“When we got the news, you could hear a pin drop in this place,” said Merrilyn Gagni, who works at the Knox Trail Inn, one of the fixtures of Sullivan s daily routine. “Everyone was devastated ... it was a great loss for this town.”
Richard Phair, the assistant fire chief, called Sullivan “the Jimmy Buffett of the firefighting world,” referring to the popular singer/songwriter known for his love of the beach.
“He once told me, When life gets too serious, and I start to look at it too seriously, it s time to get in the camper and go to the beach, " Phair said.
“He was laid back, never got upset — he was always there for you, whether it was to help you with something or to just listen to you.”
Pinkham said that Sullivan joined the Otis Fire Department in the late 1970s, after a massive fire broke out in the town. With there being very few firefighters in the area, volunteer recruitment numbers grew for the department, leading the department to increase its numbers to 25. During his tenure, Sullivan even briefly served as assistant fire chief. Gagni said that the retired Sullivan was seen as a father figure for many in his close-knit community.
“You ll never hear a bad word about him,” she said. “Every time you walked away from the man, you were laughing or smiling — he was just an all-around great guy, with a heart of gold.”
The department currently has a makeshift memorial for Sullivan, with a chair set up with turnout gear just outside of the fire department s engine bay door, Phair said.
Pinkham said that Sullivan’s two sons, Peter and Douglas, would be coordinating a memorial service. They could not be reached for comment on Tuesday night.
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