photo by: BRENDAN BERUBE
BARNSTEAD FIRE CHIEF George "Rusty" Krause (far left) presents members of deceased firefighter Steve Jones' family with the medal of valor awarded posthumously to Jones by the New Hampshire Fire Service and Emergency Medical Services Committee of Merit.
Honoring Jonesy
Barnstead Firefighter receives posthumous medal of valor
by Brendan Berube, Staff Writer
as published in The Baysider, October 18, 2007
CONCORD — In life, Steve Jones was known as the “go-to guy” on Barnstead’s fire department, a firefighter’s firefighter who was always ready and willing to go wherever he was asked and do whatever was asked of him.
During a special ceremony in Concord on Oct. 10, Jones’ fellow firefighters saw their friend and colleague (whom they affectionately called “Jonesy”) rewarded for his dedication and service to the community with a medal of valor from the New Hampshire Fire Service & Emergency Medical Services Committee of Merit.
The experience was bittersweet for many of them, however, because Jones could not receive the honor in person. The 40-year fire service veteran died of heart failure on Dec. 29, 2006, at the age of 56, while transporting a truck to Maine for routine maintenance.
The ceremony took a visible toll on Fire Chief George “Rusty” Krause, who fought back tears as he presented the medal of valor to members of Jones’ family on behalf of the department.
“This tugs on me all the time,” Krause said after the ceremony, explaining that Jones’ death hit particularly close to home because he and Jones were very close in age and had known each other since childhood, when they served together as Boy Scouts.
“Every part [of it] has a significant impact,” he added.
Krause was touched by the show of support, not only from members of the department, but from the community, as well. Firefighters, he said, don’t often like to call attention to themselves or what they do, but he was grateful for the opportunity to show so many colleagues and community members what an impact Jones made during his lifetime.
“This is what it’s all about … the camaraderie,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that [the award] was posthumous.”
According to planning board chairman and call firefighter Dave Murley, Jones managed to create an impact on the department even in death.
Jones, Murley said, was the department’s first line-of-duty death in 20 years. Wanting to do something special for his friend, but having no precedent to follow, Krause appealed for help from the Granite State Fire Service Support Team, an organization formed under the auspices of the state Fire Marshal’s office to provide assistance and counseling to departments affected by line-of-duty deaths.
A support team including Capt. Mark Klose of the Bedford Fire Department and Earl Lincoln of Hooksett stayed with Krause for a week, drafting a new set of funerary policies and procedures.
Klose also helped to secure a $7,000 donation from Globe Manufacturing, a company that produces protective clothing for firefighters, which was used to purchase a trailer for Jones’ casket during the funeral.
On Sept. 10, the Granite State Fire Service presented Barnstead Fire-Rescue with a mobile support unit, donated in Jones’ memory, which will be shared with other departments that lose personnel in the line of duty.
That spirit of generosity and support, Murley explained, is a fitting tribute to Jones, who thought nothing of driving out of his way to deliver a piece of equipment to a neighboring department, or traveling to a firehouse in New York just to check in with his brothers in arms.
A quiet hero
Those who knew Jones best felt that no one would have been more surprised than him to learn that he had been selected to receive a medal of valor.
Jones’ brother, Dale, who accepted the medal along with his sister, brother-in-law and nephew, was unsure about the honor at first because the prevailing notion of heroism in the line of duty entails actively battling a fire or rescuing a victim.
The more he thought about it, however, the more Dale said he came to realize that firefighters are looked upon as heroes in the eyes of the public even if they don’t do anything but go to work each day.
“Steve embodied being a hero,” Dale said, particularly to children.
In fact, he explained, Jones had contacted a young man from Barnstead who was interested in pursuing a career as a firefighter the day before his death to ask if he wanted to go along for the ride to Maine.
Jim Bennett found it difficult to talk about his brother-in-law even months after Jones’ death. He said, however, that he could think of no one more deserving of such an honor.
“It’s well deserved,” Bennett said. “He was a remarkable person … a good man. It’s a big loss.”
About the medal of valor
The medal of valor awarded to Jones for conspicuous bravery at extreme risk to life, above and beyond the call of duty, in an effort to protect and save human life is the highest award given by the Committee of Merit.
The medal was named after Paul W. Sypek, a longtime communications operator for the Concord Fire Department who funded the awards program through a bequest in his will in 1987, and selected specific individuals to serve on a committee charged with seeking nominations for individuals whose actions were deemed to rise above and beyond the call of duty.
In 1991, the committee was reorganized into a private, nonprofit organization known as the New Hampshire Fire Service Committee of Merit, which is supported by the Professional Firefighters of NH, the Fire Officers & Instructors of NH, the NH Fire Prevention Society, the NH Association of Fire Chiefs, and the NH State Firemen’s Association.
The committee is funded entirely through donations.
Brendan Berube can be reached at 569-3126 or bberube@salmonpress.com