Longtime Vestal Volunteer Fire Department chief and former Endicott Police Sergeant Douglas John Rose Sr. leaves behind a legacy of public service and a profound impact on his fellow firefighters.
Rose, 66, died on March 20 after dedicating his life to public service. At just 16 years old, he joined the Vestal Volunteer Fire Department and rose through the ranks, serving for over 50 years as a firefighter, officer, station chief and, finally, as the department chief. He was a 20-year veteran of the Endicott Police Department.
His death, which was related to colon cancer associated with his service, is considered a line-of-duty death, according to the Vestal Fire Department.
At Rose’s home base Station 1 on March 25, Vestal Fire Chief of Department John Paffie was balancing his grief with his duty to Rose, which includes the planning of a post-funeral lunch scheduled for March 28. He said he is expecting attendance to be “in the thousands.”
“He impacted a lot of people’s lives in the fire service alone, not even counting his 20 years with Endicott police,” Paffie said. “It’s been a whirlwind of emotions.”
Paffie, Station 1 President and Assistant Foreman Sean Fitzpatrick and Second Lieutenant Shelby Frisbie stood around a table in the station’s meeting room, rotating between planning the post-funeral event, cracking jokes and reflecting on the time they spent with the man affectionately known as “Moose” for his towering, 7-foot stature.
Ten years ago, Fitzpatrick received his acceptance letter in the mail − he called it his “greatest birthday gift,” and he has been a member since. When he first walked into the station to get an application, Rose was in the office. His presence, Fitzpatrick said, “cannot be mistaken for anybody.”
Despite being with the department for 10 years, Fitzpatrick said he is “one of the new guys” in comparison to others, like Firsbie, who has been with the department for 14 years. When he got started, Fitzpatrick said Rose was instrumental in helping him learn the ropes and eventually become the station president.
“There’s been times where I get to be an emotional person and I don’t always think rationally, so Doug helped me to stay on the rational track many, many times,” Fitzpatrick said. “He was very instrumental in guiding me and helping me to be a leader in the organization.”
Frisbie said he and the chief would sometimes “butt heads,” but Rose was always giving “great words of encouragement,” especially in difficult times.
“When I have somebody with that experience around, I can really lean on him and be like ‘hey I’m not sure what to do in this situation, what should I do,'” Frisbie said. “Doug was one of those people that you knew always had an answer.”
A lasting impact on the Vestal fire department
Rose emphasized the importance of working together as a unit and creating a family within the department by getting to know your fellow firefighters in order to “work safer,” Fitzpatrick said.
“When the crap hits the fan, you have to work alongside your brother and you have to trust him,” Fitzpatrick said. “If you don’t know him then it’s harder to do that.”
As a leader, it was in the more difficult and “heated moments” where Rose’s leadership really shone. Frisbie said that Rose always knew how to bring levity to unforgiving situations.
“Even in the midst of tragedies, if you have major incidents, fatalities, it’s traumatic for us, so if we can kind of exit ourselves for even a split second, maybe crack a joke, it helps and Doug would know what to say,” he said.
The firefighter bond went beyond the station and beyond calls, Fitzpatrick said. When he was “having a difficult time,” Rose was on the other end of the phone with “sound advice.”
“He was not only the chief of the station, but he was like the father of the station,” he said. “He was a smart guy and he gave advice when you needed it. He kept you straight and he put you straight when you needed it.”
A family dedicated to service in Broome County
Public service runs in the Rose family, Frisbie said. Rose’s son, Doug Rose Jr., has been a member of the fire department for 15 years and works as a Broome County 911 dispatcher. His daughter, Emily Rose, is a school teacher. His wife of 34 years, Patricia Rose, is a retired nurse.
Frisbie said you “couldn’t ask for a better family” than the Roses.
“The whole family gave back to the community,” he said. “They’d give you the shirt off of their back and if they didn’t have one, they’d make it for you.”
Rose’s obituary mentions his grandson Cooper John Rose, his son’s child who died after being born prematurely, Frisbie said.
Fitzpatrick said when Rose found out his son was having a baby, he was “just beaming” about having a grandchild.
“Doug was so excited to take care of the baby, he would say, ‘Put that baby on my chest and I will take care of it every day,'” Fitzpatrick said.
In the wake of his death, the family Rose created within the fire department has been gathering to celebrate his life, talk through their emotions and move forward following the loss of a man who “made the department what it is,” Fitzpatrick said. The thought of reuniting with Cooper, Fitzpatrick said, is something that keeps him going.
“It’s one of the things that gives me solace, knowing now that Doug is holding Cooper every day like he wanted to,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: 50-year Vestal FD veteran Doug Rose remembered as ‘father of the station’
Reporting by Jillian McCarthy, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin / Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
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