Saturday, September 13, 2008 8:10 AM EDT
By James Tinley, Register Staff
MILFORD - Assistant Fire Chief James P. Wilkinson, 55, has come a long way from his days as a kid chasing fire trucks to emergency calls on his bicycle and hanging around the Fort Trumbull fire station.
Wilkinson, a veteran firefighter of more than three decades, retired Friday.
"My career was a childhood dream that became a reality," Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson comes from several generations of Milford firefighters dating back to when it was a volunteer force. He said he always knew he would be a firefighter.
When he was 21, Wilkinson joined the Milford Fire Department and spent the next 34½ years climbing the ranks and serving the community.
Surrounded by friends, fellow firefighters and family at a retirement party Friday, he said he’s retiring without any regrets or desire to change a thing if he could.
"I know I’m leaving a Fire Department in good hands," Wilkinson said. "They’ll continue to do the good work."
Fire Chief Louis A. LaVecchia said the department is losing a wealth of knowledge and a man of great character.
"He’s put a full lifetime into service. He’s a guy, who in a literal sense chased trucks on his bike, he’s been a big part of the department for a long time," said Chief Louis LaVecchia. "He leaves some big shoes to fill."
As assistant chief, Wilkinson was the third highest ranking fire official and the commander of all emergency operations.
Firefighter Jason Hall started the first of his 11 years at the Milford Fire Department with Wilkinson as his battalion chief and said he learned a great deal under Wilkinson’s tutelage.
"His whole thing was, if he pulled up to a scene and if there was nothing for him to do he was happy," Hall said. "That’s because if there was nothing for him to do, it meant we all did our jobs. And we all knew what to do because he taught us."
Cathy Wilkinson, his wife of 29 years, described her husband’s retirement as "an end of an era.""It all feels so strange," Cathy Wilkinson said. "But I know it’s the right thing." She said she looks forward to a "new chapter" in her family’s life as Wilkinson moves on to become the director of emergency services for the Mid-Fairfield County Red Cross chapter. "It’ll be a short-lived retirement," James Wilkinson said.
James Tinley can be reached at jtinley@nhregister.com or 401-3530.
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