Local Firefighter celebrates 50 Years of Service

Rich Parry began Firefighting Career in GVFD

By Brooks Chandler

TN Contributor

Both ends of the career spectrum of what Anchorage Fire Chief Doug Schrage said was “the greatest occupation in the world” were recognized on Saturday at the Girdwood Fire Station.  

Following presentation of badges and helmets to six men who had recently achieved Firefighter 1 status, Girdwood’s Rich Parry was feted for having served as a firefighter and paramedic for a half century.     

Rich is a “legend” said Girdwood Chief Michelle Weston. Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance was on hand and read a Girdwood Board of Supervisor’s Resolution thanking Parry for five decades of service to Anchorage and Girdwood.  

Rich focused his remarks  at the ceremony on the new members of GVFD.  Rich said he was “proud of you all” and “happy to serve” alongside them as they endeavored to serve the Girdwood community.

Firefighter Rich Parry (left) is honored by Chief Michelle Weston (center) and Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance during a ceremony at the Girdwood Fire Station for 50 years of dedicated service to the community.  (Photo by Brooks Chandler)

Chief Weston provided the following remarks and interview of Rich to TN:

MW:  Rich is just a great guy to have on calls, a compassionate paramedic, a technical engineer, mentoring new generations of firefighters and in the station. The world and Girdwood is a better place because Rich is in it. 

Parry inspired both his children to follow in his footsteps as firefighters with Girdwood Fire and then as transition to careers with Anchorage Police and Anchorage Fire Department. It’s a huge legacy of service. It was my honor to interview him for this article.

Weston provided the following interview responses:

MW: What made you decide to join the fire department in the 70s?

RP: There was a cabin fire in 1974 that burned two people badly, killing several pets and destroying all of their belongings. I was walking past the station the next week and saw Gary Young sweeping the floor. I went over to ask what happened and he recruited me on the spot.

MW: What advice do you have for new firefighters?

RP: Take the job seriously but don’t take yourself too seriously. Take pride in what you do but don’t be too proud of yourself.

MW: What are the biggest changes you have seen in fire and EMS [Emergency Medical Services]?

RP: They have both become much more professional. The training and education that is available (and required) is of a  much higher quality and is far more demanding and time consuming. It means the volunteers are giving even more of their time to keep up with everything.

Firefighter Rich Parry (second from left) during the early years of his firefighting career.  (Contributed Photo)

MW: What is your favorite ems equipment/fire equipment?

RP: It’s actually something I don’t ever use myself. The rollout of automatic defibrillators (AEDs) has made a huge impact on cardiac arrest survival. When they are deployed before we arrive it makes a big difference. It’s great to get on location and find that your patient’s heartbeat has already been restored.

MW: What is the biggest change you have seen in Girdwood?

RP: Wow, there have been so many over the years. We used to have only hand me down equipment from the city or borough departments. We used CB radios to communicate after being alerted on a party line phone or by the three air raid sirens that would sound. My first medical certificate was an advanced first aid card from the Red Cross as there weren’t any EMT instructors available and fire fighting was a do it ourselves proposition.I could go on and on but the general trend has always been positive. I would say what hasn’t changed is more important and that’s the culture of the department. It’s still full of the best people I know. They put in so many hours of their time in ways that the public never sees. 

MW: What piece of new EMS equipment over the years has been a game changer? Since I already mentioned the AED I would say rather than any single piece of equipment it’s the miniaturization and affordability of all types of EMS gear, cardiac monitor/defibrillators, pulse oximeters, etc. along with better communications equipment. The first defibrillator we had in Girdwood was a Lifepak 3. It was the size of a large carry-on bag and weighed around 40 pounds. We can now assess problems much more quickly and accurately and then transmit the information to the receiving hospital.

MW: Any great stories you want to share?

RP: There are too many to pick one out but you can catch me at the station pretty often or at the brewery on most Friday evenings. Just stop me if you’ve heard this one already.