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102-year-old firefighter looks back on service

Fred Langford has kept a scrapbook of articles documenting his time at the Vernon Fire Department

By FireRescue1 Staff

VERNON, N.Y. — After 65 years of service, a firefighter reflected on the changes he’s seen since he first joined.

Fred Langford, 102, has kept a scrapbook of articles documenting his time at the Vernon Fire Department, according to WKTV. He said he’s seen changes in training, fire attack approaches and PPE cleaning.

“We dragged the old hose around and tried to soak down the fires,” Langford said. “We went with our regular clothes on and we got dirty, got wet. You just wash them and put on some clean ones.”

Langford also noted that he was often too eager to respond to fires, and picked up the nickname “Ever-ready-Freddy.”

“I lost my shoe off in the street one time when I was running to catch the fire truck,” Langford said.

Although Langford is no longer on active duty, he is still a department member and attends department gatherings.

https://twitter.com/WKTV/status/839938848608124928

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