Post by willi1 on Jul 15, 2018 12:33:12 GMT
Ed Bragdon spends his days taking emergency calls as a Montville emergency dispatcher. But, in 1975, he was actually going out on them as the chief of the Montville fire company.
That's the year his firefighting team was introduced to Sparky the dog.
"We had him as a mascot there," Bragdon said. "He used to get in quite a bit of trouble."
Sparky was the classic fire department dalmatian
Donated by a local resident, he may have been a little clumsy and caused some trouble at first, but quickly got the hang of things around the station.
"Sparky stayed there at the firehouse the majority of the time," he said. "Whenever the phone rang, he knew the difference in the phone bells, so whenever the emergency line rang he would start barking."
In fact, Bragdon said, the other chiefs around town were getting a little jealous because the Montville company always knew about emergency calls first, thanks to Sparky.
The dog helped give his firefighting family a head start for nearly 10 years until he needed to be put down in 1984.
Now Sparky keeps watch over Montville Fire Station No. 1 as a larger-than-life firefighter's friend.
"We were sitting out front one day and we noticed that a rock looked like a dog's head," Bragdon said.
So the firefighters all pitched in, and painted the large rock outside the garage in remembrance of Sparky.
Now, firefighters watch as people from all over stop in and take a look at the former mascot.
"We had some people from Maryland that were here from a fire station down there taking pictures," said Montville firefighter Donny Ellis. "We had to come out and take pictures of them in front of the dog."
Sparky has been gone for nearly 30 years now, and just in the past eight years, the firefighter responsible for his well-being also passed away.
A plaque in memory of Russ Luty, who often cared for Sparky, hangs in the Emergency Call Center.
Luty was not only a firefighter, but one of Montville's first dispatchers.
Sparky also leaves a legacy.
That's the year his firefighting team was introduced to Sparky the dog.
"We had him as a mascot there," Bragdon said. "He used to get in quite a bit of trouble."
Sparky was the classic fire department dalmatian
Donated by a local resident, he may have been a little clumsy and caused some trouble at first, but quickly got the hang of things around the station.
"Sparky stayed there at the firehouse the majority of the time," he said. "Whenever the phone rang, he knew the difference in the phone bells, so whenever the emergency line rang he would start barking."
In fact, Bragdon said, the other chiefs around town were getting a little jealous because the Montville company always knew about emergency calls first, thanks to Sparky.
The dog helped give his firefighting family a head start for nearly 10 years until he needed to be put down in 1984.
Now Sparky keeps watch over Montville Fire Station No. 1 as a larger-than-life firefighter's friend.
"We were sitting out front one day and we noticed that a rock looked like a dog's head," Bragdon said.
So the firefighters all pitched in, and painted the large rock outside the garage in remembrance of Sparky.
Now, firefighters watch as people from all over stop in and take a look at the former mascot.
"We had some people from Maryland that were here from a fire station down there taking pictures," said Montville firefighter Donny Ellis. "We had to come out and take pictures of them in front of the dog."
Sparky has been gone for nearly 30 years now, and just in the past eight years, the firefighter responsible for his well-being also passed away.
A plaque in memory of Russ Luty, who often cared for Sparky, hangs in the Emergency Call Center.
Luty was not only a firefighter, but one of Montville's first dispatchers.
Sparky also leaves a legacy.
The department hasn't had a company dog since Sparky, and likely never will again.
(Eyewitness News)
