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Show Firce chief to leave post Sept. 1 remembered. At the time, there were a lot of residence fires, he said, but among the larger blazes he fought was the St. Mary's Church fire. I" "Arson was not a problem then, except for one case. There was a woman who was disgruntled with living in Park City so she set fire to abandoned sheds around town. Finally she got her way and her husband moved the family out of town. Berry recalled hearing that she was later arrested for arson in another community. In 1952 however, Berry said he decided to leave Park City to pursue a career as a professional firefighter in Salt Lake City. "I started out on the bottom rung as a 6 th grade probationary firefighter and when I retired I was a captain. For the last 10 years there, I Firefighter to A5 Park City Fire Chief Jim Berry will be closing the book on a century of family firefighting tradition when he resigns Sept. l. ! by NAN CHALAT Record staff writer Firefighting is a family tradition in Jim Berry's family. His grandfather, Edward Berry, became Park City's first fire chief in 1881 and his great uncle, James Berry, was at the head of the department during the great fire of 1898. Another uncle, W.J. Berry, then served as chief for 30 years, throughout the 1920s, 30s and 40s. So it is easy to see why it is hard for Chief Berry to turn in his badge. Since announcing his decision to resign Sept. 1, Berry admits he has had mixed feelings. Citing a political disagreement with the current fire commission as the official reason for leaving (see separate story). Berry said "I wish things had worked out differently, but I am looking forward to retirement." Actually, Berry retired once before but only for three days. After 31 years of service with the Salt Lake City Fire Department Berry decided to resign from active duty and to spend his time instead helping small-town fire, departments establish estab-lish training programs and purchase equipment. One of the first departments to call on his expertise was the Park City Fire Department. That was August, 1983 and three days after Berry's resignation in Salt Lake became effective he was pressed into full-time service in the town where he had been born and raised. When Jim Berry was a boy he was among the first students to attend classes at the brand new Marsac School. "Park City was booming in the 30s and 40s. Mining was going strong and there were so many students we had two classes in every grade." After graduating from Park City High School in 1948, Berry decided to carry on a long-standing family tradition he signed on as a volunteer with the local fire department. Firefighting then was a lot different than it is now, Berry remembers. "We didn't have the kind of fire resistant turnout gear (boots, coats, gloves, helmets and breathing apparatus) we have now. We just went to the fire in the clothes we were wearing. "I ruined a lot of clothes," he Firefighter from A1 was in charge of the training programs and purchasing all of the equipment from the smallest gasket to a $200,000 fire truck." Berry said fires were a serious problem in Salt Lake during his first years there. Most of the buildings in the downtown area were more than 1 00 years old. W e fought a lot of fires in those old stores and hotels." Berry said the most spectacular fire in his memory was the Congress Hotel fire at Second South and State Street in 1974. "We evacuated 90 people and although 13 businesses were completely destroyed there was no loss of life," Berry said. Among the many rescues of his career, Berry said one of the most rewarding involved a small child and a black labrador retriever. It was a residence fire and Berry said when he arrived, two of the three children already had been rescued, but reports were that a third child was still inside. Berry said he fought through the smoke to find the child who told him he was looking for the family dog. Berry carried the child to safety and went back in to find the dog. "I love dogs and the kids told me the dog had saved them by waking them up. "When I found him he wasn't breathing, but I carried him outside and laid him on the grass. Then I found a tank of oxygen and just barely turned it on. He finally came around," Berry said with a smile. But Berry added that his recent years in Park City have been as rewarding as those in Salt Lake City. In leaving, he said he has no regrets about the accomplishments of the Park City Fire Department. When Berry was hired in 1983, the department had just expanded to include three full-time firefighters. Since then, the department has grown to 14 full-time staffers, added two new fire stations and the Park Avenue station is staffed around the clock. There are now more than 30 trained volunteers and Berry said the department members have logged over 6,000 hours of training already this year. "I feel I have accomplished what I came here to do. But I am sad to leave. This has been my whole life." Berry said his retirement plans include traveling with his family and working on a book about the history of firefighting in Salt Lake City. He said he is planning to move back to Salt Lake and that he will continue to offer his services as a consultant with the State Fire Marshall's office. But for September at least, Berry said his wife is putting her foot down. "No pagers, no radios and no telephone." |