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I have been waiting a number of years to put some of my thoughts down on paper as to the story of an evening out with some friends. It was March 26th, 1984 and I was on one of my junkets back to New Jersey. I had been living in New Mexico for the last four years, after taking a job as a career firefighter with the City of Farmington. I looked forward to these trips to stay in touch with the buddies that I had made during my formative years in the fire service.

I am not sure who had suggested the “boys night out,” but the crew consisted of me, Firefighters Mike Lonergan (now retired), Joe Wirtzbacher (now Battalion Chief) of the Summit, NJ Fire Department, and Firefighter Lew Sheats, of the South Orange, NJ Fire Department. I had the opportunity to work with all three of these guys at Overlook Hospital’s Paramedic Unit back in the late 1970’s. Joe had been a paramedic and a volunteer with the Chatham Borough, NJ Fire Department before becoming a career firefighter in Summit. Mike, Lew, and I had been “drivers” for what was one of New Jersey’s first hospital based advanced life support units. Mike had been on the job in Summit for a number of years, and Lew, on top of being a career firefighter in South Orange had just done a six-year stint as the Deputy Chief of the Chatham Borough department.

Back in 1976, I had joined the Millburn, NJ Fire Department as a volunteer and had also become an auxiliary firefighter with the Newark, NJ Fire Department during the same time period. During my time in Newark, I had been riding with Engine 6 out of the firehouse they shared with Deputy 1 at Springfield Avenue and Hunterdon Street. Another former Millburn firefighter, Bill Heilman, had made the move to Newark years before and had offered (after my begging) to mentor me in the ways of “big city” firefighting. During the years that I “buffed” the Renaissance City, I developed a very deep affection for the Newark Fire Department and its members that remains with me to this day.

On this evening the four of us loaded into a vehicle, scanners in hand, and headed into Newark. Well, no trip to New Jersey’s largest city would be complete without a fine dining experience. We stopped at J.J.’s Hot Dog truck on Bloomfield Avenue and Lake Street for some of the finest “dirty water dogs” in the area. That hot dog wagon has been parked at the same spot since I can remember, and at any time of the day or night you can find an eclectic crowd waiting in line to feast on some of North Jersey’s premium tube steaks. After chow-ing down enough hot dogs to feed a small third world country, we were off.

We were lucky enough to catch two jobs that night. The first was a fire in a row of stores on Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Boulevard at the corner of West Kinney Street that occurred just before 23:30 hours. The fire went to a second alarm before being declared under control. The fire was believed to have started in a grocery store. The acrid smell of smoke, as well as the sights and sounds that greeted us upon our arrival at the scene let me know that I was back in my old stomping grounds.

Flashing lights, the elevated RPM of Engine Companies pumping water, Truck Companies breaking glass to vent the building, radio transmissions with just enough feedback to let you know they were coming from a job, and the roar and grind of a K-12 saw as the Rescue was cutting the locks on the security doors all came together to made the “melody” of the fireground.

While at this first fire, units were called to another blaze three blocks from the King Boulevard job. That fire occurred in a vacant two-and-a-half story frame building on Longworth Street. The brothers from the NFD did an exceptional job at both incidents. As for the four of us, we were just happy to have been eating hot dogs, chasing fires, and taking pictures. Can life get any better? As the night started to turn into early morning, we eventually headed for home.

The significance of this night out did not become apparent until just a little over nine-years later.

On April 1st, 1993, Lew Sheats made the Supreme Sacrifice. I distinctly remember receiving a phone call from Mike Lonergan that morning, telling me that Lew had been killed in the line-of-duty. It being April Fools Day, my first thought was “that’s not funny.” As Mike went on telling me what happened, the reality set in that this was no joke and our friend was dead. It was time for another trip home.

Lew was now a Lieutenant with the South Orange Fire Department. However, Lieutenant Sheats was not killed at a big fire that occurred in that city of 20,000 people. No, he died in his home town of 8,500 citizens, protecting the people that he grew up with.

The fire at 12 Bartow Lane in Chatham Borough was reported at approximately 03:25 hours that morning and first arriving encountered a well developed fire in a residential structure. Within twenty minutes after the fire was reported, a partial roof collapse caused the home’s chimney to fall. Lew was operating with three other firefighters in rear yard, directing a hose stream into the building. Rain and low lying smoke had made conditions less than optimal, and when the chimney failed, Lew took the brunt of it. The fire also took the life of the 81-year-old woman who lived there.

Lew was one of my mentors, although he never knew it. A volunteer firefighter since 1969, and a career firefighter since 1974, he was promoted to lieutenant five years before his death. He was someone I looked up to and wanted to emulate. Most of the volunteer firefighters I came up through the system with had their eyes on career positions. Lew was also one of the first strong advocates of firefighter safety that I had met, and his thirst for knowledge and enthusiasm for the job were contagious.

April 5th, 1993 was a beautiful spring morning in Chatham, NJ. I stood among 2,500 of my brothers and sisters to bid my friend farewell. I was honored to be there, surrounded by them on that day.

I have spent a lot of time over the last twelve-years thinking about Lew and how he died, perhaps in a place that he did not have to be. Much has been written recently about career firefighters being discouraged from volunteering in their home towns. The wants of the fire unions versus the needs of small communities can sometimes be a heated issue.

In this instance however, Lew left the firefighters of New Jersey with a legacy. In April of 1994, New Jersey Governor Christie Whitman signed a bill that allows for full death benefits to be paid to the families of career firefighters who are killed in the line-of-duty while serving as volunteers. The law was made retroactive to the day that Lew was taken from us.

After much thought I came to the conclusion that Lew did have to be at that fire on that fateful morning. Not because it was trendy or because it was what everyone else was doing. Lew was there just because it was the right thing to do.

L.R.S., you may be gone - but you will never be forgotten!

A 29-year fire service veteran, Tom Aurnhammer is the Deputy Chief for the Los Pinos Fire District in Ignacio, CO. He retired as Chief of the Farmington, NM Fire Department in 2003.