Retiring Lynn district fire chief reflects on career

LYNN – District Chief Lee Oliver has seen a lot in 32 years with the Lynn Fire Department.The biggest fire he ever worked was the Second Great Lynn Fire in November 1981, not long after he started working for the department.”I was off duty that night, but the chief sounded a general alarm calling all off-duty firefighters, and we fought it for over 24 hours,” Oliver said. “To see the devastation was incredible.”He described the fire just traveling from building to building, and then spreading vertically to the top of six-, seven- and eight-story structures.”In a matter of minutes they would just be ashes,” he said.Oliver will hang up the hose for good on Wednesday, having spent more than half of his life putting out fires in Lynn. He has mixed feelings about it, he said.”It’s more than just a job, it’s been a career I’ve enjoyed immensely,” he said. “It’s different from the average 9 to 5 job because you’re there for days, and you get to know everybody very closely. I’m going to miss the guys a lot. “Oliver, who will turn 60 on June 5, three days after his official retirement date, said he discovered his calling while serving in U.S. Air Force for four years.”I was a firefighter there and I enjoyed it, and very much hoped to continue on,” Oliver said. “Then I was fortunate to get the job with the Lynn Fire Department.”Oliver joined Lynn Fire in 1980 and climbed the ladder from lieutenant to captain, and finally to district chief three years ago. He called the promotion a privilege and a reward for a lot of hard work.”It wasn’t an easy thing to do, and I was very pleased,” he said. “I feel grateful.”One of the hardest things about leaving, he said, is saying goodbye to the men and women of Division 1, which he heads.”As district chief, I could not ask for better guys,” he said. “They make me feel very confident when I’m on an emergency scene that I have the best guys I could ask for.”Lynn Fire Chief Dennis Carmody said he and Oliver worked opposite shifts as lieutenants on the same engine for over seven years, relieving each other.”His leadership and experience I’ve leaned on heavily,” said Carmody. “He brought a lot to the table and he’s going to be missed.”Recently, Oliver said he has been reminiscing with old friends about his time with the department.Not long after he started, a big fire burned down a large portion of Central Square. And only a month after the Second Great Fire, a serious fire broke out at the Lynn Plastics Corporation.”We had loss of life with that one,” Oliver recalled of the Plastics fire. “I remember we had a snowstorm the night before and the fire came in about midday.”Other days on the job were less strenuous, though no less dangerous. Oliver said one day a creamery truck spilled its load of milk all over the Lynnway. Traffic was backing up while they cleared the scene and Oliver feared one of the firefighters working the spill might be hit.”We were washing it down and having a problem with traffic, trying to get police to reroute the traffic. I remember saying, ‘We’ve gotta get out of here. I’m not going to get someone killed over spilled milk.'”He and his co-workers still laugh about it today.Oliver moved to Lynn from New Hampshire as a 2-year-old and has lived here ever since. He has no intention of relocating, except for some traveling, he said. His first stop will be a trip to Disney World in Orlando with his family the day after his retirement becomes official.”I’m going to miss the excitement. I’m kind of like a little kid in that way,” he said. “I don’t really ride on the fire truck anymore, but I’m still a firefighter at heart, and I enjoy the challenge of an incident to try to make the right decision at the right time so everything goes right.”Taylor Provost can be reached at [email protected].