Oakland Resident Eddie Kimmel, 80, Still Fighting Fires and Doing Rescues After 53 Years

It was Monday night, 7 p.m., and volunteers with the Oakland Fire Department started streaming in for the weekly 2.5-hour drill.

Eddie Kimmel was among them, just as he has been for the last 53 years.

At 80 years old, Kimmel is the longest-serving volunteer at the firehouse. His pager is always right by him. When a call comes in, he rushes to his car and heads to the firehouse on Yawpo Avenue.

His helmet says No. 139 and “Ex-Chief” – he still beams with a sense of pride and duty when he puts it on.

There isn’t a job at the department Kimmel hasn’t done. He rose up the ranks to eventually serve as chief in the mid-1980s, then went back to being a “black hat,” as he put it, using the industry parlance for “firefighter.”

Kimmel joined the fire department in 1967, two years after he moved to Oakland. He was determined to find a way to serve the community, and a few visits to the firehouse and meeting the volunteers convinced him that it was where he belonged.

“I was always community-minded, I wanted to do a service for the town,” Kimmel says. "I enjoy helping people."

His daughter, Stacey, one of his four kids, says her father’s motto has always been: “The more you give, the more you get back.”

Her mother, Jackie Kimmel, who died in 2013, also lived by that motto. She was captain of the Oakland First Aid Squad and was a police dispatcher for Wyckoff, Oakland and Pequannock. 

One of Eddie Kimmel's sons was a firefighter and helped out in the police department in Oakland before moving out of state. One of his grandsons is a firefighter and paramedic in Connecticut.

The department has 57 members—more than half have served over 20 years, said Frank Di Pentma, who handles public relations. And Kimmel is one of several who have put in more than 40 years.

Kimmel, who was a longtime employee of the Department of Public Works, knows every last detail about all the trucks and equipment. He explains all the features without missing a beat and with proprietary pride.

Most of the volunteers have jobs or school during the day, so it’s up to Kimmel and a few others available those hours to respond to calls.

Kimmel says there are some things that are too physically demanding for him at this stage, so he leaves them to his fellow firefighters.

“I don’t make night fires anymore,” he says. “I just don’t hear the pager when I’m sleeping.”

“I won’t run into a burning house now,” he says, but if he thinks someone is in danger inside, he will head in.

“If I had to, I will, I’m going to go in to help someone.”

In the case of a fire, Kimmel manages crucial duties outside the burning structure, helping to pull the hose to his colleagues, and reminding them to leave their tags outside before running in.

“I play a safety role,” he says. “I make sure they have their equipment, and that they drop their tag and pick it up again when they come back out so you know they’re out.”

“The whole time they’re inside, I’m standing right outside, watching and making sure they’re O.K.”

Indeed, firefighters enjoy a special bond, Kimmel says. Every so often, a group from the firehouse will get together for a trip to see former colleagues who are now at the New Jersey Firemen’s Home, a licensed health care facility in Boonton that provides residential and longterm care for firefighters.

"We've also had fundraisers to help fellow firefighters who are going through tough times," Kimmel says.

After sitting for this interview, Kimmel was going to run an errand for a firefighter friend who was stuck at home with knee problems.

The errand? "He wants lottery tickets and three chocolate chip cookies," Kimmel says, "So I'm going to the store to get them."

Fires are just a fraction of what Kimmel and his fellow firefighters do. If there’s an accident and people need to be extracted, they’re there to help. If a truck overturns and there’s a spill –yes, firefighters go to that. When there are floods, or when hikers get lost, they provide help with searches and rescues – and sometimes, recovery.

During the deadly and destructive Superstorm Sandy in 2012, Kimmel, who was then 73, and his fellow firefighters did shifts of 36 straight hours.

“I’ve said to him, ‘You’ve put in your time,’” Di Pentima says, “He doesn’t need to keep doing this.”

But Kimmel responds that he does need to, because he enjoys it, and because he will help Oaklanders for as long as he is able to.

“My mind just keeps going, it doesn’t stop, I don’t stop,” Kimmel says.

Now, he is looking forward to Fire Prevention Week in October. On Monday, October 7, at 7 p.m. the public is invited to the firehouse, where firefighters will speak about their jobs and explain their equipment. There will be fire simulations and a chance for kids (and those who are kids at heart!) to try their hand at what firefighters do.

“It’s doing a community service,” Kimmel says about giving Oaklanders a taste of what their firefighters do.

Finally, Kimmel says he'd like to see more Oaklanders join the firehouse.

"We're always looking for volunteers," he notes. "It's a good way to support your town."

Fast facts about the Oakland Fire Department

 The Oakland Volunteer Fire Department was founded in 1909--that's 110 years of serving the community.

 Over the past five years, the OVFD has averaged 390 calls per year. They respond to more than fire calls. They respond to calls about motor vehicle accidents, carbon monoxide alarms, searches for lost hikers and flood situations, just to name a few. 

 In 2018, the OVFD spent 8,310 hours responding to calls, 8,348 hours training on the latest firefighting and rescue techniques and 2,938 hours doing things like equipment maintenance, fire prevention and community service for a total of 19,596 man-hours at the service of the residents of Oakland.

 The department has 57 members currently and are always looking for more to join them. Anyone interested can come down to the firehouse on Yawpo Avenue on Monday night at 7 p.m. and speak to any of the officers about what they would need to do to join the team. 

*Information courtesy of Frank Di Pentima, public relations officer