End of an Era, 2.0

This Thursday, February 4, Lieutenant Ed Mattson will put on his headset and login to the CAD for the last time. This will mark the second time that Ed has retired from Fire Mutual Aid and more than 43 years that he has served the System.

Ed was hired in May of 1966 and worked fulltime until his retirement in April of 1987. After serving 12 years as the Road Agent for the Town of Fitzwilliam, Ed was hired part-time in November of 1998 and ended up filling the weekday afternoon/evening “third person” shift.

Since Ed has returned to Fire Mutual Aid, his contributions have extended far beyond the dispatch center. He could frequently be found delivering or retrieving the system’s Fire Safety Trailer to any one of our member towns from New Ipswich to Wilmington and Acworth to Winchendon. He is one of the few from Dispatch that can tow and set up our portable antenna tower used for supporting emergency communications in the field. Ed was also part of a team that climbed the side of a mountain, with a prefabbed building in tow, and constructed an enclosure at one of our antenna sites. He frequently dispatched emergency personnel at planned events like the Cheshire Fair and Jaffrey’s Festival of Fireworks. Ed has been a fixture on the hiring committees over the last two decades, lending his expertise for choosing our “next” dispatchers.

“When Ed came back to Fire Mutual Aid, we all played a part in his retraining, of which he needed very little,” says Lieutenant David Whipple, “over the years I truly believe that he taught me more than I taught him.”

“There was always a certain level of reassurance when Ed was in the room during difficult calls,” remembers Whipple. “I could always turn and say to him, Ed what do you think about doing this?” “And his answer would either be I think that's a good idea or, you could always do this.” “Usually I went with whatever he said.”

Deputy Chief Kassie Lunderville recalls, “I remember when I got hired here. I was working in the ER at MCH with Eddie's daughter. I was so nervous about applying here and when I was getting ready for my oral board, his daughter told me to not worry about Eddie because, although he sounded like a mean guy, he was really just a big teddy bear and she is 100% right. I was fortunate to get hired and Eddie was one of my trainers. He always has a way of helping you and correcting your mistakes without making you feel like you really messed up. He was never condescending or belittling, he always just wanted us all to succeed as a team. He is one of the best supervisors ever!”

Before applying for the Deputy Chief's position, Ed was one of the people that then Lieutenant Tom Redin consulted with to get his opinion on whether he should apply or not. Redin recalls Ed's encouragement that day in a long talk they had at Meadowood during a classic car show in 2015.

There were very few computers in Dispatch when Ed returned. In contrast, today, that’s all there is in there. At each position; the radio consoles are computers, the CAD system is a very complicated computer with multiple monitors and then throw in another computer for miscellaneous record keeping. It is remarkable how Ed was able to get up to speed with the technology and remain there for his tenure. I comment on his ability to successfully embrace technology because he has a few years on me, and I struggle with it frequently.

We would like to thank you, Mr. Mattson, for all your contributions, for your patience, for being a mentor, for lending your expertise, for always bringing your sense of humor and for just being you.

Chief Sangermano

Due to Covid 19, we will not be permitting any visitors at the Dispatch Center. Ed will be on duty that day from 0730 to 1500 hours. Please feel free to call him at 603-352-1291 to wish him well and thank him for his decades of service.

Pictured is Ed Mattson, Kassie Lunderville and Tom Redin

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