Last year Norman Pearson cut out early on Thanksgiving dinner with his family, having been called to fire-police duty by Gasport Chemical Hose Company. It was one of 140 calls that he responded to as a volunteer in 2024.
In late January, when Pearson was sworn in for another year as a fire-police officer, as well as a fire company director, during GCHC’s 105th annual installation and awards ceremony, no fuss was made. That came later, when members’ Length of Service milestones were acknowledged, and a veritable procession of local dignitaries joined the membership in celebrating Pearson’s latest one: Seventy years as an active member.
Make that 70 years and counting, Pearson’s daughter Pam Brauer advised.
“He’s not stopping anytime soon,” she said.
“I feel I was born to serve,” Pearson explained. “I just want to help.”
Pearson, 89, grew up in the Slayton Settlement area and joined Gasport Chemical Hose Co. in 1952, having been recruited by the fire chief at the time, Frank Ramming. Since two of Pearson’s elders were the first leaders of the company after its founding, he figures he was “predisposed” to join. Eventually, he held most of its leadership posts, including chief, president and training officer.
The three-year break in Pearson’s Gasport service record is due to his enlisting in the U.S. Air Force in 1955. Working in aircraft maintenance, his job was to teach other crews how to use their planes. Toward the end of his original four-year “hitch,” he got himself assigned to Niagara Falls Air Force Base, from which he could also serve with the Gasport company again.
Following that hitch Pearson joined the Air Force Reserve, got a job as an aircraft technician at the base, and remained active with his hometown fire company. Then, following a one-year tour of duty with the Air Force Reserve in Vietnam, in 1968-69, Pearson decided to tap his GI Bill benefits to study fire science at Erie Community College. In 1975, with a degree in hand, he was appointed chief of the 107th New York Air National Guard Fire Department.
After 18 years in aircraft tech, “I jumped the hose,” Pearson quipped. He led the air base fire department for 15 years, until retiring with the rank of chief master sergeant.
Simultaneously, Pearson said, he got his “foot in the door” at Harrison Radiator Division in 1977, when a fire administrator’s post opened, and put in 18 years there before retiring for good.
Clearly, fire science is a passion for Pearson. After getting his degree with distinction, he became a New York State Fire Instructor, and over the course of a 27-year stint, he was certified in 29 courses.
In 1980, General Motors appointed Pearson as its representative on the National Fire Protection Association committees that were writing standards for industrial fire brigades and security services in fire loss prevention. Adopted standards are subjected to review every five years, Pearson said, and the standards that he helped to write held up through two reviews, into the 1990s.
Closer to home, over the years Pearson did tours of duty with the Niagara County Fire Chiefs Association, the county’s Fire Advisory Board and the local emergency planning committee, which he chaired for 10 years.
In whatever capacity he served, he said, his charge has been to continue improving local fire service.
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For Gasport Chemical Hose Co., where he has life membership status, Pearson has been doing fire-police duty only for the past six years or so due to his age. At incident scenes, fire-police officers provide traffic control and “help make sure everybody goes home,” he said.
Having enough volunteers to respond to an incident is an issue during the day when most people are working, Gasport company director Mike Drum pointed out. “That’s when Norm shines,” he said. “He’s there directing traffic, helping out … that’s a vital role.”
Pearson said he doesn’t know whether he has set a Length of Service record among volunteer firefighters in the region, but he concedes 70 years of active service is “unusual.”
“I’m very fortunate. I’ve taken good care of myself,” he said.
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