"It is with deep emotional feeling that after more than 29 years of service I am requesting my retirement from the Canton Fire Department to be effective January 19, 1985."
That's how Capt. David DeMeo, who died Tuesday morning at the age of 79, began his letter of retirement almost three decades ago.
He ended the letter to Chief Charles Bunyan with the declaration that "It has been a privilege, and honor and very rewarding to have served the community as a member of the Canton Fire Department."
It is clear from comments of mourning firefighters, both DeMeo's contemporaries and the firemen with whom he later became acquainted with, that the privilege was also theirs.
"Guys like Dave don't come along very often," said Capt. Lorenzo Bagley, who serves in the position, heading Canton Fire Department's Fire Prevention Bureau, that DeMeo once held. "He was loved by everyone."
STARTS ON FORCE
DeMeo came onto the department in 1955. Within 10 years, he was promoted to captain, the youngest at 32 of the five men who were raised to that rank in February 1965.
He was appointed to the Fire Prevention Bureau a year later and became the officer in charge of this unit of men dedicated to fighting fires before they break out. His leadership left a legacy that was lasting.
"The way things are set up now is based on the way he set them up years ago," Bagley said.
The annual Fire Prevention Breakfast during Fire Prevention Week was DeMeo's most visible effort to promote fire safety in the community.
But, during his tenure the Fire Prevention Bureau also visited schools to educate students about fire safety, issued warnings of furnace fires and other household fire hazards, offered holiday fire safety tips, held open houses at fire stations, and solicited poster slogans to promote fire awareness.
DeMeo was ever-present in the Fire Prevention Bureau.
"In more than 29 years of service, Dave used 64.5 hours of sick time," said Division Chief John Whitlatch. "That tells you how dedicated he was."
RETIRED FIREMAN
DeMeo's second home during his almost three decades on the force was a "tiny office on the second floor of the Fire Department Administration Building" at 701 Market Ave. S, noted Repository reporter Debbie Blake when the fire captain retired in 1985.
"I‘ve tried to talk him into staying. He's going to be difficult to replace," said Chief Bunyan at the time. "It's going to be a long time before the office can function again with his level of expertise."
DeMeo talked to The Repository about early fire prevention techniques during his tenure.
"We used to walk through buildings and look for obvious hazards like tangled wiring and trash piled up on the floors."
DeMeo left the force with what he called "mixed feelings." But, his knowledge wasn't to be lost in his daily absence, as it turned out.
"He'd come in and talk to us about cases," said Capt. Chuck Goldy, safety officer for Canton Fire Department. "He'd stop in once or twice a week. He was very loyal to the department."
STILL FOLLOWED FIRES
Many of DeMeo's visits to Canton Fire Department, and with the fire forces of other communities, were made as a fire/police liaison for Design Restoration, a company that works with fire departments and fire victims to first board up and then rebuild fire-damaged buildings.
"It was always comforting to see him pull up at a fire scene," said Michael Vlahos, a fellow employee at Design Restoration. "They all knew him and knew of his character and what he represented. He was there to help the homeowner."
DeMeo "knew both sides of the fire industry," said Vlahos, and he could talk easily to both weary firefighters and confused victims. It was a job that was ideal for a man such as DeMeo, said former fire chief Joseph Concatto.
"This was a job that allowed him to go around to fire stations and talk to the chiefs, to the guys," said Cancatto. "That kept Dave in that realm of fire. I tell people that the job was made for Dave."
For years, DeMeo also taught classes and seminars dealing with arson and fire prevention, starting many of them off with "The Fireman's Prayer." Vlahos called DeMeo a "Christian man" who talked to each employee at Design Restoration daily and who participated in hour-long bible study and prayer meetings prior to work days two mornings each week.
"He loved coming to them," said Vlahos. "He was always early."
Vlahos laughed slightly as he remembers how DeMeo's phone sometimes would ring during the prayer sessions.
"His granddaughter had put a song on his phone for a ring tone, and it was loud," said Vlahos. "I told him, ‘Dave, you've got to remember to turn that off in the parking lot.' He'd smile and nod."
At a prayer meeting last week at Design Restoration, it was Vlahos' phone that rang. It was DeMeo's family notifying Vlahos that his friend had passed on.
"The phone call came at 7:20 a.m. He had passed away during our prayer meeting. Just a little faith builder to let us know that he's home.
FINAL WORDS
Bells chimed, as well during, the Last Alarm Services that preceded calling hours for DeMeo on Friday at Rossi Funeral Home. The line of people who arrived to pay their respects to the DeMeo stretched toward the parking lot.
The large number of callers was a reminder of a story Vlahos told of taking his wife to a large function at which DeMeo also was a guest.
"I told her, "now you're going to see how many people Dave knows," said Vlahos, recalling how person after person came up to DeMeo to greet him. "After it was over, when we got in the car, my wife said, ‘Well, I don't know if Dave knows everybody. But, everybody knows Dave."
Many who knew DeMeo were eager to talk about him after his passing, especially his fellow firefighters.
"Dave was always fun-loving, was looking for a laugh," said Concatto. "He was a very pleasant person to be around. A generous man."
"He was one great guy," said fire investigator Dave Akers.
Whitlatch called DeMeo a "kind man" and Bagley recalled him as a man firefighters "felt like we worked with," even if they'd never been on the force with him.
For Vlahos, the final feeling was simple.
"I'm going to miss my friend."
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