MEMORIAL (Updated January 2008)

Welcome to the Memorial Page for the Dreadnaught Hook, Ladder & Hose Company #1. This section, as is the entire site, is dedicated to all Members past and present of the Dreadnaught fire company. We added this section on the website the last week of September 2003, following the sudden death of one of our fellow members, Mike "Flea" Andrade.

Past Captain Joe "Muffy" Moreira, Jr. 66, a forty-year life member of the Dreadnaught Hook Ladder and Hose Company No. 1, and Past Captain & life member of "The Fog Squad" Engine 4, passed away Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007, at his home, following a year-long battle with cancer. Please feel free to read more about him in this Bristol Phoenix online article.

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A Message from Captain Prezioso,
forwarded by Robert J. Martin, Chief

Bristol Fire Department
401.253.6912 Office
401.253.6610 Fax

The Funeral for FF/EMT Nicholas "Nick" Baker will be held:

Friday 27 April 2007 at 1100hrs at Mt Carmel Church

The Chief would like everyone to meet outside the church at 1030hrs.

Dress Uniform

Rescue 2 will serve as hearse; Car 1 will hold the pall bearers.
Both Rescue 2 and Car 1, along with the pall bearers,
to be at Sansone's at 1000hrs

Bearers will be members of the Scouts and Fire Department
(Col. Serpa and Chief Martin will contact the pall bearers)

A wake will not be held. The burial will be private.

The Department will be hosting a gathering immediately after the funeral mass, at the Dreads. Everyone is welcome to join, and have something to eat and drink.

Respectfully,
David Woodbury,
Dreadnaught Company Clerk

A Message from Captain Prezioso:

It is with sorrow that I must inform you that Bobby Sylvia passed away Sunday night (2/12/06) in his sleep. Bobby was a life member of the Dreads, Rescue and Engine 4. He was very dedicated to serving the community as a firefighter and EMT.

One thing to share with you all on a personal note; he had a ton of stories about his days in the Dreads. I loved hearing them anytime he was around. Bobby's friendship, service and humor will be missed very much.

Bob was also very active in the Warren Fire Department, serving on the Rescue Squad and Special Hazards.

Click here for the Bristol Phoenix obituary article.

Images taken at Bobby Sylvia's funeral 2/18/06.

Arrangements were as follows:
Calling hours are Friday 2/17/06 from 4-8 PM at Sansone Funeral Home on Wood Street. Fire Departments will proceed through at 6:30 PM.

Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday morning 2/18/06 at 10 AM at
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church on State Street.

Burial will follow in St. Mary Cemetery, Chestnut Street.

Dress uniform required for Fire Department members.
***Additional information to follow, as obtained.***

The following was information on his funeral arrangements:
(from the Providence Journal)

Funeral Services from the Sansone Funeral Home, 192 Wood St., Bristol, Tuesday, May 10, at 9 a.m. with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in St. Mary's Church, Bristol. Burial with Military Honors will follow in St. Mary's Cemetery, Bristol. Visiting Hours, Monday, 4-8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Mary's Church, 330 Wood St., Bristol, RI 02809.

Dreadnaught and Department members who wish to attend the wake should meeting at the Dreadnaught fire station at 6:15 PM in full dress uniform.

thayes@eastbaynewspapers.com

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Michael "Flea" Andrade

1975-2003

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Our Company and the Bristol Fire Department are saddened to announce the tragic death of our brother member, Spec. Michael Andrade, in an accident, Wednesday September 24, 2003, while serving for the Rhode Island National Guard in Iraq. He was killed Wednesday when the Humvee he was riding in was struck by another Army vehicle. Mike joined our station and the department in October of 1993, and was a very active and important member of the Company, as well as with the Rescue Squad. We are devastated by his loss, and even more importantly, supportive of his family, including Mike's wife Kristen, a member of the Rescue Squad, and Mike's younger brother Kevin, who is a member of both our Company and the Rescue Squad as well. Mike also leaves, among so many close friends and family, his 13-year old stepson Douglas. To all who know us in town and across the state of RI, and to all who visit our website, please keep us and Mike's family in your prayers. We will post on the site in the coming weeks much more about "Flea", including information on coming days of his funeral arrangements. Please feel free to visit our message board if you would like to share your thoughts or read the thoughts of others.

Respectfully,
David Woodbury,
Webmaster & Dreadnaught Company Clerk

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Related news articles on the internet:

Newest Article: Bristol Phoenix/East Bay News 10/02/03

Bristol Phoenix/East Bay News 09/26/03
Providence Journal 09/26/03 (password needed <free>)
Associated Press Article (some outdated information)

This future section will share more information about Flea, including pictures, stories and more about his life. For a recently written article about him on Military.com, please visit the following link: http://www.militarycity.com/valor/2245100.html

This future section will contain other items to be on the memorial page, including a list of deceased members, and photos of our firefighter's park on Thames Street and our deceased members plaque at the fire station, plus more memorial photos from the park in Emmitsburg, MD.

This section will also contain more information about Anthony Barbarito, another member of our station, who passed away tragically as well, several years ago.

A Fireman's Prayer   When I am called to duty, God, Whenever flames may rage; Give me strength to save some life, Whatever be its age. Help me embrace a little child Before it is too late, Or save an older person From the horror of that fate. Enable me to be alert And hear the weakest shout, And quickly and efficiently, To put the fire out. I want to fill my calling And to give the best in me, To guard my every neighbor And protect his property. And if, according to my fate, I am to lose my life, Please bless with your protecting, my children and my wife. Author Unknown.

A Poem From A Section Of Spiritual-Medium.Com:
http://www.spiritual-medium.com/fireman.htm

One Kind of Hero

This is one kind of hero. There are many others who are
not in such a dangerous line of work who also risk their lives
to help in recovery efforts. Then there are the quiet heros
who try to bring comfort and understanding to those who
have lost someone dear. Those heros listen, listen, listen, without judgement, without advise unless asked, and with unconditional love.

They are there for us day or night, always available, and they
make it known to us that we can talk and we can repeat ourselves
until our grief is spent. They realize that the grief comes in waves and we may need to be angry, or sad, or overwhelmed all over
again on a different day. They accept all this with grace, never
losing patience. For in their wisdom they know that our lives with never be the same again because of our loss, we will never be the same person either, and they wait for us to find ourselves and become the person we must become to survive the sorrow.

by Donna Coughlan

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History of the Maltese Cross

The badge of a fireman is the Maltese Cross. This Maltese Cross is a symbol of protection and a badge of honor. Its story is hundreds of years old.

When a courageous band of crusaders known as the Knights of St. John, fought the Saracens for possession of the holy land, they encountered a new weapon unknown to European warriors. It was a simple, but a horrible device of war, it wrought excruciating pain and agonizing death upon the brave fighters for the cross. The Saracen's weapon was fire.

As the crusaders advanced on the walls of the city, they were struck by glass bombs containing naphtha. When they became saturated with the highly flammable liquid, the Saracens hurled a flaming torch into their midst. Hundreds of the knights were burned alive; others risked their lives to save their brothers-in-arms from dying painful, fiery deaths.

Thus, these men became our first firemen and the first of a long list of courageous firefighters. Their heroic efforts were recognized by fellow crusaders who awarded each here a badge of honor - a cross similar to the one firemen wear today. Since the Knights of St. John lived for close to four centuries on a little island in the Mediterranean Sea named Malta, the cross came to be known as the Maltese Cross.

The Maltese Cross is your symbol of protection. It means that the fireman who wears this cross is willing to lay down his life for you just as the crusaders sacrificed their lives for their fellow man so many years ago. The Maltese Cross is a fireman's badge of honor, signifying that he works in courage - a ladder rung away from death.

-anonymous

Heaven's Brigade

Did you know there's a Fire Department in Heaven?
I heard Cap tell that sorrowful lad.
The young boy stared, working over the words he'd just been given.
Cap, do you think God's got a spot on the truck for my dad?
Cap smiled, even though you could tell his heart was heavy, and said,
You bet son, as he roughed the hair on the boy's head.

Timmy looked up, his sadness, for now, gone.
Cap went on, holding back the tears that were trying to fall.
They've got the biggest, reddest fire trucks you ever saw,
And they keep them all cleaned and ready,
Just in case they get a call.
Of course they don't get too many,
Bein' in Heaven and all.
But God knew this, so right next to them He made,
A great big tree, that puts out a lot of shade.
And each day they have at least one run,
Down the streets of Heaven, leading the afternoon parade.

That's been years ago now,
And in that time, things have changed a lot.
Cap, he's been retired, and I, somehow, made it to Chief.
And Timmy, He's just Tim now, down at station two,
And, I must say, one of the finest Captains on my crew.

The day came, the worst of any other,
When we have to say farewell to a fallen brother.
I watched, as Tim walked over to that hero's son,
And share some words, just as my Cap and Tim had once done...

Did you know there's a Fire Department in Heaven?.............

- Author: Assistant Chief KP
Boles Fire Protection District

In Honor

Brother when you weep for me
Remember that it was meant to be
Lay me down and when you leave
Remember I'll be at your sleeve
In every dark and choking hall
I'll be there as you slowly crawl
On every roof in driving snow
I'll hold your coat and you will know
In cellars hot with searing heat
At windows where a gate you meet
In closets where young children hide
You know I'll be there at your side
The house from which I now respond
Is overstaffed with heroes gone
Men who answered one last bell
Did the job and did it well
As firemen we understand
That death's a card dealt in our hand
A card we hope we never play
But one we hold there anyway
That card is something we ignore
As we crawl across a weakened floor
For we know that we're the only prayer
For anyone that might be there
So remember as you wipe your tears
The joy I knew throughout the years
As I did the job I loved to do
I pray that thought will see you through.

-author unknown

The Last Alarm

My father was fireman.
He drove a big red truck and when he'd go to work each day
he'd say, "Mother wish me luck."
Then Dad would not come home again
'til sometime the next day.

But the thing that bothered me the most
was the thing's some folks would say,
"A fireman's life is easy,
he eats and sleeps and plays,
and sometimes he wont fight a fire
for days and days."

When I first heard these words
I was young to understand
but I knew when people had trouble
Dad was there to lend a hand.
then my father went to work one day
and kissed us all goodbye
but little did we realizes
that night we all would cry.

My father lost his life that night
when the floor gave way below
and I'd wondered why he'd risk his life
for someone he did not know.
But not I truly realize
the greatest gift a man can give
is to lay his life upon the line
so that someone else might live.

So as we go from day to day
and we pray to God above
say a prayer for your local fireman.
He may save the one's you love.

-unknown author

Admiration!

Next to the big fire truck i stood.
My throat was scratchy, my legs felt like wood.

i knew in my heart someday i'd sit up in that cab,
right up there with the firefighters and my dad.

yup, i'm a firefighters kid i am i am
and someday they'll call me firefighter mam!

i'd going to grow up and be just like my dad,
grow up and ride in that big yellow cab.

i'll get up in the middle of the night, just like dad, to the tone.
Rush out the door , let out a loud groan,

then rush back to the room to put on clothes i forgot,
and out to the truck, my heart racing, my stomach in a knot.

then i'd stop and look up to the house and wave,
to my kid standing in the doorway telling me to be brave******

A Poem By Firefighter Carleen Cochran (Tonasket, WA), who wrote me via email in June '05 to let me know that the admiration poem was written by herself and written to her fire chief, but written for his daughter, as if Carleen were her writing it.

This future section will contain other links, pictures and information on other memorials of importance to the fire service, including the tragic events of 9/11 and national line-of-duty deaths.