Paul Hopkins
• Badge #62
• 1975-2012
"I was told I had the job in April of 1975 (I was 24 years old), and in May, they called us in to give us a tour of West Street station (where we were going to be posted), gave us our long coat, long rubber boots, a helmet (which I still have today), a hat with a badge and one set of fatigues.
My start date was July 1st, 1975 but my first shift was the day after, on C Platoon. I showed up for 8:00 am, where the Captain introduced me to the crew, and 10 minutes later, I had my first call, a "resuscitator" call (cardiac arrest) at the Cruickshank Funeral Home, on Robie Street. I was at the back of Engine 1 with Les Drysdale and Charlie Carter, who said to me: "Just follow me, kid". The Lieutenant was Neil Mosher (Bruce Mosher's father; Bruce is a Captain). That was my initiation...
Four years later, I became a driver and was assigned to Engine 1 again. My very first call as a driver was a "resuscitator" call at the Cruickshank Funeral Home, on Robie Street. Talk about a coincidence!
I was promoted to a Lieutenant of Fire Prevention in April of 1986. 7 months later, I went back to Operations, and then I was promoted to Captain in November of 1990, and then Platoon Chief in September of 2000."
• Paul retired as Platoon Chief on June 30th, 2012.