The Peterborough Fire Department recognized Donald Parkhurst for 45 years of service to the Department and to the citizens of Peterborough earlier this month.
Parkhurst has been on the job since March 1973 – technically, 47 years. His accurate and long-serving memory is a strong asset, according to his colleagues. Fire Chief Ed Walker described Parkhurst as “one of the people that remembers the details of past stuff, whether a mechanical problem, history, or a previous incident.”
On Aug. 6, fire department staff presented Parkhurst with a certificate of appreciation, a personalized Carhartt jacket, and Gamewell box lamp (#45), at an evening training session.
“We literally had to surprise him to give him those gifts,” Walker said. “He doesn’t want any of the recognition.”
Parkhurst joined the fire department after a brief stint as a police officer and said he never thought about leaving once he started. He became Fire Chief in 1987 when the department operated on an on-call basis, and held the position for the following four years as he oversaw the fire department’s transition to a full-time entity.
Nowadays, Parkhurst drives the fire department’s fleet of vehicles: the ladder, engines and tanker.
“I’ve been in burning buildings enough,” he said, and said it’s fine with him to “let the young kids have that fun.”
He’s still certified as an EMT, just in case.
“When I first got on, training was not the greatest,” Parkhurst said.
In the days before local fire departments offered substantial in-house training, Parkhurst said the privately-owned Meadowwood fire department in Fitzwilliam used to fill a critical gap in training and assistance to the small-town fire departments of the region. He and several other Peterborough firefighters became associate members so they could have the best access to trainings and top of the line equipment. He earned an associate’s degree in fire science to improve his understanding and efficacy.
“More knowledge is better. The better I get, the better I like it,” he said.
Parkhurst said the department sees fewer actively burning fires than when he started, but changes in building construction and home furnishings mean that homes are now full of synthetic materials rather than cotton, wool and wood.
“They burn more like gasoline,” he said, and can escalate in 45 seconds whereas firefighters used to have two or three minutes to respond.
“Things seem to go in cycles,” he observed, reflecting on his career.
He said chimney fires swelled during eras when wood-burning stoves gained favor.
“People switched to wood in the 70s, but didn’t know what they were doing.”
He watched the incidents taper off as homeowners figured out how to use their stoves properly, or switched back to heating oil.
Parkhurst said he’s also seen firefighting methods go in and out of vogue. Today’s preferred fire hose nozzle, for example, is the same kind that was popular when he started his career.
For Parkhurst, the job is all about “giving back to the town.” He describes himself as a Peterborough native, and still lives in town.
“You’re there helping somebody. We show up when you’re having your worst day. We’re trying to, perhaps, make your day better,” he said.
Parkhurst said he has no plans to stop working.
“After 47 years, I feel like I’m a pretty decent resource,” he said.