End of an era. Last Kirlin firefighter retires after family serves Wilmington for over 100 years
Dennis Kirlin always knew that an office job wasn’t for him.
Growing up, the Wilmington Fire Department Battalion Chief watched his father and uncle fight fires in the city. His grandfather was also a Wilmington fireman, though died when Kirlin was a tot.
Each day, Kirlin said, was a new adventure for the men. While the job was often challenging and could be dangerous, “it wasn't mundane, it wasn't repetitious.”
“In a lot of professions, you can't wait to get to the weekend,” Kirlin said. “But they were glad to go to work every day.”
Though Kirlin can't point to an exact moment he knew he wanted to be a firefighter, he believes it was his father's and uncle’s passion that drove him to join the department nearly five decades ago.
As his service to the city comes to an end, he’s “got no regrets.”
Kirlin has been out on medical leave since April after his vehicle was hit at East Fourth and North Walnut streets while responding to a call. The department announced his medical retirement last month, but because of sick and vacation time, he will officially retire Oct. 22.
It’s a proud moment for him and the city, given he’ll have been with the department for 46 years. But it’s also bittersweet, as his departure marks the end of an era of Kirlin firefighters, who have served Wilmington for more than 100 years.
“I didn't intend on doing this many years, and I don't know how I did,” Kirlin said, chuckling. “But I’m lucky my health held out – at least until April 7.”
A family legacy
Kirlin didn’t think much of his family’s storied history with the Wilmington Fire Department until a few years ago.
He knew that his grandfather, Michael Kirlin Sr., died in a 1955 house fire on Wilmington’s East Side when he was 2. He had a heart attack as a result of “over-exertion and smoke inhalation,” a news article said at the time.
Kirlin also knew of his grandfather's legacy – that he’d been a volunteer firefighter before the city established a paid department in 1921 and that at the time of his death, he was the only remaining active-duty firefighter who’d also served as a volunteer.
The longtime firefighter also knew how important his father, Michael Kirlin Jr., was to the department. Kirlin Jr. helped found the union in the 1960s and served as its first president.
“That’s how we got benefits,” Kirlin said. “That was a big turning point in the Fire Department, for all workers’ rights.”
Still, it wasn’t until the agency celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2021 that the now 70-year-old realized just how unique his family’s history was.
“It’s remarkable,” Kirlin said of three generations all working for the same department. (Kirlin’s cousin Billy also served with the Wilmington Fire Department, though retired in 2014 after 29 years.)
“Somebody told me that even the New York (City) Fire Department didn’t have anything like this, having a family on from inception for over 100 years,” Kirlin said.
'How you learn the trade'
Though having three generations at the same agency may be a source of pride for the Kirlins, it was practical, too.
Much like police or emergency medical work, firefighters work long hours. This means limited time at home.
When Kirlin began his career, he worked three days and then had three days off. Day shifts lasted 10 hours, while night shifts were 14 hours. This meant he “was always in the firehouse.”
About 20 years ago, the schedule changed. The shifts became 24 hours long, plus any overtime the men needed to work. Then, firefighters had three days off.
Now, Kirlin said, “guys never get home.” The schedule of 24 hours on and two days off means “they’re constantly ordered to work.”
Because Kirlin served alongside his father and uncle – his father retired in 1984 and uncle in 1991 – he got time with relatives that other men didn’t have. And while “you were a family” in the firehouse, the hours he spent with his father and uncle were formative.
“When you see somebody you respect at a fire scene giving orders and knowing what they're doing, that's how you learn the trade,” Kirlin said. “They passed a lot on to me.”
Laughing, he added: “And I had to really make sure I didn't screw up.”
THE KIRLIN FAMILY LEGACY: 100 years of fighting fires in Wilmington
Yet off-duty, too, Kirlin relied on his father’s fire expertise.
Though he credits his Catholicism for getting him through difficult incidents, it was beneficial to have someone who could understand the trauma first responders experience.
To this day, a 1982 fire in which he helped rescue the 5-year-old son of a Wilmington police officer still haunts Kirlin. While news articles at the time said the boy died after being pulled from the home, Kirlin said the child was already dead when he was handed to him.
“That’s the worst part of the job,” Kirlin said. “When you find dead kids.”
He also pointed to the Canby Park row house arson in 2016 as a defining tragedy in his career. Three firefighters died in the blaze – Capt. Christopher Leach and Lt. Jerry Fickes that day, and Senior Firefighter Ardy Hope months later.
That time, Kirlin didn’t have his father to decompress with.
“That was one thing that you probably missed at the end of your career,” Kirlin’s wife, Margaret, told him recently. “Your dad not being there for different situations.”
Kirlin said there are a few things he won’t miss about the job, including the politics of promotions. There were a lot of good firefighters he worked with, he said, who didn’t get the recognition or rank they deserved.
He also won't miss the schedule. Once medically cleared, he and his wife plan to make up for all the vacations they didn’t go on because of the job.
“I’m going to eat and drink and smoke some cigars when I get better,” Kirlin said. “And go down to Florida, like everybody else.”
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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: After 100 years of Wilmington firefighting, last family member retires
