[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 20, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S41]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    REMEMBERING CHIEF RALPH JACKMAN

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a dedicated 
public servant in Vermont who passed away earlier this month.
  Ralph Jackman joined the Vergennes Volunteer Fire Department in 1947, 
and took over the helm as chief of the department in 1954. Some 55 
years later, in November 2009, he stepped down from his post--widely 
recognized as one of the longest serving fire chiefs in the Nation.
  During his time as the chief, Jackman saw many changes at the fire 
department. The department grew immensely-- doubling the number of 
firefighters and tripling the number of vehicles. He oversaw the 
establishment of a cadet program and the construction of a new fire 
station. He also found time for a variety of community service 
activities, including serving as the two-time president of the Vermont 
State Firefighters Association. Throughout his entire career, Jackman 
was in the thick of the action, responding to emergency calls and 
managing the volunteer department's operations.
  Chief Jackman's family had firefighting in its blood. Jackman's twin 
brother Fred, who passed away in 2008, was a member of the Bristol Fire 
Department for 62 years, including 14 years as that department's chief. 
Chief Jackman's wife, as well as his five daughters, helped the 
Vergennes Volunteer Fire Department throughout his career. And eight of 
Chief Jackman's grandchildren are now firefighters.
  My wife, Marcelle, and I wish to express our deepest condolences to 
Chief Jackman's wife, Myrle Jackman, his immediate family and his 
extended family in the fire service community throughout Vermont. They 
are rightly proud of Chief Jackman's long and distinguished career and 
the legacy he has left behind in Vergennes and Vermont.
  I ask unanimous consent that a story from The Burlington Free Press 
about Chief Jackman's storied career be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

             [From the Burlington Free Press, Jan. 7, 2010]

          Last Call for Chief Jackman: Hundreds Attend Funeral

                           (By Matt Sutkoski)

       Vergennes.--Ralph Jackman made his last fire call 
     Wednesday.
       Jackman was chief of the Vergennes Fire Department from 
     1954 until November--55 years. He died Saturday at the age of 
     85. Services were held for him Wednesday morning.
       Family, friends and more than 200 firefighters crowded into 
     St. Peter's Catholic Church for the services. The 
     firefighters came from surrounding towns and distant 
     communities--Addison, Whiting, Bristol, Cabot, Burlington, 
     Shrewsbury, East Montpelier, even Nashua, N.H.
       At the service, Mark Bouvier of the Bristol Fire Department 
     said Jackman's whole family helped with the chief's decades-
     long career. He had five daughters, and when they were 
     growing up and a fire call came into the Jackman home in the 
     middle of the night, everyone sprang into action. One 
     daughter would answer the phone, others would make sure his 
     gear was ready for him; another would open the garage door. 
     ``He needed all his daughters to get ready for fire calls,'' 
     Bouvier said.
       Firefighting runs in the Jackman family blood. His twin 
     brother Fred, who died in 2008, was a member of the Bristol 
     Fire Department for 62 years and was chief for 14 of those 
     years. Eight of Ralph Jackman's grandchildren are 
     firefighters.
       Jackman was one of the nation's longest serving fire 
     chiefs, and he was often in the forefront of Vermont 
     firefighting innovations, Bouvier said. Under Jackman, the 
     Vergennes Fire Department was the first to acquire a hose-
     reel truck and the first to establish a cadet program.
       As great a contribution Jackman made to the Vergennes Fire 
     Department, he thought of all the city's residents, Bouvier 
     said. He'd give fuel oil to needy residents during the time 
     he owned a fuel business. Somebody else might get a warm coat 
     from him, and he was heavily involved in a variety of 
     charitable organizations until the end of his life, Bouvier 
     said.
       The Rev. Yvon Royer, officiating at the Mass, also took 
     note of Jackman's lifelong contributions. ``He was a true 
     icon of the community. It was a respect that was earned,'' 
     Royer said.
       After the service, with an honor guard of firefighters 
     saluting, Jackman's American flag-draped coffin was loaded 
     onto the back of Vergennes Fire Pumper Truck 316. Led by a 
     contingent of Vergennes firefighters and followed by 
     Jackman's family and friends, the truck bearing the coffin 
     rolled slowly up Maple Street, turned right on Main, then 
     right again onto Green Street to the Vergennes fire station.
       The fire truck, parked in front of the station, then 
     blasted its horn three times to ceremonially mark Jackman's 
     final alarm.

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