Matthew Connor worked as a bartender and a mail carrier before joining the Pittsfield Fire Department in April. He’s one of the department’s five new recruits in the class of 2022.
PITTSFIELD — It’s a long way from studying Shakespeare to serving drinks to putting out fires. Matthew Connor’s career trajectory so far has been different than most, but it’s landed him in a place and a profession where he wants to be.
An English literature major at University of Massachusetts Boston, the 32-year-old Pittsfield resident also worked as a bartender and a mail carrier before joining the Pittsfield Fire Department in April. One of the department’s five new recruits in the class of 2022, Connor completed drill school in June and is currently stationed in Pittsfield while awaiting deployment to the fire academy in Springfield, which he will attend from October to mid-January. In Pittsfield, new recruits are known as probationary firefighters in training during their first year.
We spoke with Connor recently about how he went from college graduate to firefighter, what the training was like, and what he likes about the job.
Q: What motivated you to become a firefighter?
A: I always had an interest in doing this type of work. I thought it would suit me pretty well. … It was just certain experiences I’ve had. I used to work for a bar in Cambridge, Mass. There was a real big fire out there a few years back and it affected the community a lot and there were a lot of people without homes that night. We took people into the bar and we had them stay overnight in the basement just to get them somewhere. I kind of had a real firsthand interaction at that time and it inspired me to want to be someone who helps in those situations.
Q: Why did that incident make you think that way?
A: Just seeing how people and communities come together to help those who are affected. Seeing how first responders reacted, how they’re able to calm everybody down in those situations and just work precisely and effectively to save lives and to help people.
Q: I think everyone wants to save lives, but what was appealing about that for you?
A: The reason I wanted to do it in Pittsfield is that I’m from a fifth generation Pittsfield family. I have tons of relatives around here. It’s not just the idea of saving lives but being there and doing it for my friends, for my family for people that I know.
Q: When you got out of college did you think you’d be a firefighter at 32?
A: I actually kind of had it in the back of my mind. I took some classes at BCC for fire science back in 2008. I thought about pursuing it back then, but I wanted to get out from Pittsfield for a little while. I wanted to go and pursue my education a little more. After that fire happened out there (in Cambridge) it really stuck with me again.
Q: What was drill school like?
A: It was a month of training from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday though Friday, We started the day doing house chores: Sweep and mop, clean the kitchen clean the living spaces. We finished that and put on our bunker gear, our full uniform you could say, and climb a five story tower (located at Engine 5 on Pecks Road). We climbed that about five or six times up and down which was, you know, tiring, when we first started.
We ran up and down it quite a bit.
Q: Ran?
A: Not ran, jogged up and down it wearing full gear. Sometimes we would end up running it.
Q: What’s the gear like?
A: It’s pretty heavy and to me pretty constricting. Part of our training is to get it on quickly because when the calls come in you’ve got to get it on get on the truck and get moving. It becomes kind of second nature to have it on after a while.
Q: What’s it feel like when it’s on?
A: It’s like wearing giant super duty winter gear like a snowboard suit pants and jacket with a backpack on, something like that. You try and get it tight around your waist so all the weight is down in your legs not your shoulders. You can feel like you’re walking through mud after awhile, but you do adjust.
Q: What kind of shape were you in before you started drill school?
A: I thought my physical condition was pretty good. My last job was as a mailman in Williamstown last year. I was walking about 10 miles a day on average so I thought I was in pretty good shape. I started running and I was running a 5k just about every day so I would be prepared. It is still exhausting. You can’t really work out the way they work us out in drill school.
Matthew Connor, one of the newest members of the Pittsfield Fire Deparment, gets Engine 3 ready for the next call.
Q: What’s a first year firefighter’s typical day look like?
A: When we go in in the morning we go upstairs and check in with everyone. You find the person you’re going to be taking’s position on the truck. I get my gear, everything that I need and bring that to the truck. Then we go through the entire piece, the whole engine, check everything top to bottom. You go through everything and make sure it’s stocked and working properly. I think that’s the most important thing for new recruits to really know everything in the engine and where it is, and be accountable for everything on there because what it comes down to is it’s your fault if your oxygen tanks are empty or you’re missing something.
Everyone has been put into position to succeed. Our training captain was incredible at helping us learn all sorts of different practical things that we’ll be facing right off the bat.
Q: In Pittsfield, firefighters work a 24 hour shift, are off for 24 hours, work another 24 hour shift, then have five days off. What do you do during down time at work?
A: Studying and training. There really isn’t a lot of down time for a new recruit. or us, we’re expected to learn a lot, and know a lot when we first start.
Q: What is expected of a young firefighter?
A: We’re expected to be the first one up to answer the phone. The first to jump in to do chores, the first to do everything. You’ve really got to show initiative when you first start. You’ve got to prove yourself.
Q: What have the calls that you’ve been on been like?
A: I’ve been on a structure fire. It was in the middle of the night. You go from being dead asleep to a minute later being in the back of a truck speeding down the street.
Q: What’s the best part of your job?
A: It’s tough to say so far because it’s so new. I love the uncertainty of it so far that every time those calls go off you don’t know what you’re going into.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who wanted to become a firefighter?
A: If you’re serious about it then get in shape. Start working out, start running… take it really seriously.