Swampscott’s top jake steps down

SWAMPSCOTT – As he prepares to hang up his turnout gear for the last time today, Acting Fire Chief Michael Champion reminisced about his 39 years with the department.Fire runs through the blood of several generations of his family and for the first time in almost 100 years, a member of his family will not be answering the call in town.Champion, a graduate of St. Mary’s in Lynn, said he was attending North Shore Community College and majoring in business administration when he decided to enlist in the U.S. Army. Champion served from 1969 until 1971 and completed two tours in Vietnam. With a laugh, Champion admits he didn’t anticipate entering firefighting as a career.”I don’t even remember what I wanted to do when I grew up,” he said. “But when I was out of the service in 1971, I realized I needed a job. I was offered a job for the summer with the fire department and stayed on. Once I started, I knew I was in for the long haul and I have no regrets.”Champion said his grandfather Walter M. Champion Sr. joined the Swampscott Fire Department in 1911 and retired in 1950. Champion’s father, the late Capt. James E. Champion, was appointed a firefighter in 1945 and he retired in 1983. His uncle Walter M. Champion Jr. was appointed to the force in April 1938 after serving as a call firefighter for two years and he was promoted to captain in May 1942, then went on to serve as chief until his retirement in 1973.”I think at one point there were three or four of us on the department at the same time,” he said. “It got a little confusing.”Champion said one of the high points in his career was when he became an officer.”Becoming an officer in 1984 was one of my proudest moments,” he said. “I was so happy to be a plain old officer.”Champion said he has seen many changes in firefighting over the years.”One of the main changes is the addition of the fire academy, which I wholeheartedly endorse,” he said. “The fire academy is a good thing. It gives the new guys a taste of what this job is really about and gives them the skills they need. When I started we didn’t have that. You looked up to the older guys and they taught you the tricks of the trade. Back in the 1970s there were a lot more fires and that’s where you got your training. Most of my on-the-job training took place at fires in Lynn.”Champion said he is pleased that incident debriefings have become commonplace.”You are trained to do search patterns,” he said. “But no amount of training can equip you to deal with those times the outcome is not good. When I started, there wasn’t a program in place to help firefighters deal with some of the things they encountered.”Champion said smoke detectors, sprinkler systems and stringent building codes make firefighting today easier and helps save lives.”The equipment has changed too,” he said. “It’s all modernized. The apparatus is bigger and more technological. Unfortunately we are operating with less people due to fiscal constraints.”Champion, who lives in Salem with his wife, said one of the things he would miss most upon retirement is the camaraderie.”This is a second family,” He said. “I like the camaraderie. It’s family. You live, work and eat together. We all take care of each other.”Champion said he plans on spending time traveling and catching up on a growing list of chores.”I want to visit some friends in other parts of the country,” he said. “But I’ll stop into the fire department once in awhile for a cup of coffee and to catch up.”Champion said he is confident Acting Chief Kevin Thompson would do a good job leading the department until a permanant chief is appointed.