New recruit joins fire station No. 2By Donna Porstner
Staff Writer
June 13, 2004
| New recruit joins fire station No. 2 By Donna Porstner Staff Writer June 13, 2004 |
STAMFORD -- Turn of River firefighters are in love with the department's newest female recruit -- and she's loving the attention.
"She's been going up to everybody, jumping, wagging her little tail," said firefighter Carl Alton.
Ember, an 8-week-old Dalmatian, worked her first shift Monday night after she was issued a badge number at the department's monthly meeting.
Unlike most probies, Ember will have it easy. She won't have to cook dinner for the crew, clean the trucks or go on ice cream runs.
All she has to do is pass obedience school. She will attend a dog training school in Greenwich this summer on a scholarship.
Everyone who has met Ember has a soft spot for the Dalamatian with a half-white, half-black tail. Businesses and department volunteers have donated money to buy dog food, toys and an invisible fence for station No. 2 on Roxbury Road, where she will live. Her veterinarian bills are expected to be covered by donations, too.
It's been seven years since the department had a canine on its roster. Their last dog, a Dalmatian named Cinder Block, was put to sleep in June 1997 at age 15.
Cinders, as she was known, was a frequent visitor to Roxbury Elementary School, where she often ate lunch and took naps in the custodian's office. Firefighter Bryan Munger, who attended the school in the 1980s, said Cinders was in several of his class photographs.
"She's in the faculty picture that's still hanging in the office," Munger said.
"The dog graduated 13 times," firefighter Pete Bernstein said.
They plan to take Ember to visit schools when she is a little older.
"We'll take her to the schools for fire prevention week -- teach her a little stop, drop and roll," Alton said.
At the same time the department had Cinders, they had another Dalmatian, Jessie Star Duke, at Station No. 1 on Turn of River Road. Besides her day job at the firehouse, Jessie moonlighted as an actress, appearing in several television commercials throughout her career.
For Jessie's 15th birthday, the department threw a party. When she died in June 1985, her obituary appeared in The Advocate.
"The article they did for Jessie when she died is something I hope they do for me when I die," said retired Turn of River fire marshal Steve Heilner.
Cinders and the dog before her, Lady, are buried behind Station No. 2, their graves marked by tombstones.
The department talked about getting a dog to replace Cinders for about two years but seriously began looking for a pup in December. Alton took the lead, researching breeders until he selected a woman in Danbury that specializes in Dalmatians.
Born in a litter of eight April 8, Alton picked up Ember last Friday and brought her to his Stamford home. She is staying with him until she is house-broken.
Only 9 pounds, she is small enough to cradle in their arms.
"She is definitely like a newborn, keeping me up all night," Alton said. "She has to go out every three hours."
When he leaves the room, she cries, he said.
He is taking her to work with him to meet the other firefighters and get comfortable in her new home.
When Ember is settled, she will live at Station No. 2 full time.
"We'll probably get her a nice doghouse outside," Alton said, "a place to call home."
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