Morning Call Begins Last Day For Veteran Firefighter

Ross Eldridge reported for his last day of work -- ending a career spanning more than 40 years  -- a little early on Thursday morning, and left mere minutes later.

Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital-Westborough reported smelling smoke in the Flanders Road facility.

Eldridge was among the Westborough firefighters responding to the call.

"I had just walked in the door. I had looked up at the clock. It was, like, 2 minutes to eight. And I remember thinking, 'Really? It's the Fourth of July. Why is the phone ringing already?'" Eldridge said at the fire station shortly after returning from that call.

Eldridge said he joined the Westborough Fire Department as a call firefighter on New Year's Day 1973 at the suggestion of friend Phil Kittredge, who was a member. Kittredge retired from the department this winter, ending 43 years.

Eldridge said that at the time he became a call firefighter, "what I wanted to do was elementary music, but there just weren't any jobs in the area."

He had been "very involved in music in junior high and high school," and earned a degree in music education from the Berklee College of Music.

"When I graduated, I didn't want to move far away, because I had so many family ties in this area," said Eldridge, a 1969 graduate of Westborough High School.

Eldridge said he gave up music for a few years, but returned to it for about a decade as a member of Tailspin, the band organized by Craig Hillier.

"He and I were in band together in high school," Eldridge said.

Eldridge said he joined the fire department full time in January 1977. He was appointed as a lieutenant on May 11, 2008. His retirement is effective this July 15.

"It's a great job," said Eldridge, who plans to focus on his landscaping business.

"I always tell people this: firefighters don't leave the job. Once you're doing it, you're hooked for life. Rarely does someone leave for another opportunity."

Serving as president of Westborough's firefighters union for 23 years is part of what Eldridge will remember most fondly.

"I have taken so much satisfaction out of that position and helping people here when they'd had issues -- labor issues, personal issues, developing relationships with firefighters all across the state as far as health insurance goes and retirement issues," said Eldridge, who will become president emeritus.