Feb. 1—NORTH TONAWANDA — It was one last walk out of the North Tonawanda Fire Department’s headquarters on Zimmerman Street, and Chief Joe Sikora looked wistfully at the long line of his fellow firefighters lining his way.
Sikora admitted it was hard to walk away from a job he’s had since he was 22.
“It was bittersweet,” he said of his retirement after 35 years with the NTFD. “There are very few jobs where people are sad when they leave. Most of the time, they want to run out the door. But I’ve been doing this since I was 22. So yeah, I’m gonna miss it.”
The long-time chief said, “There’s a reason we call it a firehouse.”
“It’s because it is a home,” Sikora said. “(Firefighters) are like family. We know each other, each other’s families. It’s gonna be different without that.”
On Friday, the day after his retirement, Sikora was back in uniform, and at fire headquarters, for the swearing-in of his successor, Fire Chief Doug Orlowski. Then he left for a weekend getaway with his wife and friends.
“I don’t know how it’s going to feel (on Monday morning),” he said. “(Former Falls Fire Chief) Joe Pedulla asked if I got my best night’s sleep (Thursday night). I’d turned in my city car and cell phone and I guess I did (sleep well).”
Sikora said he felt a sense of relief that no firefighter was killed or seriously injured during his time as chief. He said the responsibility for their safety always weighed on him.
His retirement marks the end of a career that Sikora said he always knew would end up in public safety. He studied criminal justice in college and said, “I wanted to work in law enforcement.”
But the NT Fire Department signed him up first.
“The fire department hired me and there has never been a regret,” Sikora said.
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In his time with the NTFD, Sikora held every job and every rank. Starting as a firefighter, he became a fire captain, then the assistant fire chief, and now, for close to a decade, the chief.
It’s a legacy of public service that Sikora says will carry on with his children. He has a son who is a Niagara County Sheriff’s deputy, a daughter-in-law who serves as a county probation officer and a son who works as a city engineer in North Tonawanda.
Even after more than three decades, Sikora said he can still remember his first day on the job. An eager recruit, the future chief reported to work in full turn-out gear.
“My chief took one look at me and asked, ‘Why are you dressed like that?’ ” he said, laughing.
Now, Sikora says he’s ready for some time, hunting, fishing and boating. And maybe, finding a part-time job.
“I’m not good at just sitting around,” he said with a chuckle. “I can’t sit still.”
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