'Servant leader' South Bend Fire's Capt. Tom Adami dies in home after 32 years of service

SOUTH BEND — After 32 years of service, Capt. Thomas Adami of the South Bend Fire Department died in his home Saturday, Feb. 24.

Adami was 59 years old, according to his obituary through Palmer’s Funeral Home.

A funeral service for Adami will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 29 at St. Matthew Cathedral, 1701 Miami St., with a visitation one hour prior.

An additional visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28 at Palmer Funeral Home–Welsheimer North Chapel, 17033 Cleveland Road., with a rosary service at 6 p.m.

Adami, who was sworn into service in 1992, never got the chance to retire after his hard work.

He served most of his career at Station 2 on Engine 2 and at Station 7 on Truck 7. Most recently, he served at Station 6 on Truck 6. Adami was also a part of South Bend Fire Union Local 362.

Chief Carl Buchanon, who joined the SBFD in 1986, knew Adami for a long time.

“We’ve been on this job a long time,” Buchanon said. “You can’t be part of the South Bend fire family and not know each other, whether you work on one shift or the other.”

Over the years, Adami became a chief and Buchanon a battalion chief, but they still made time to talk about their favorite pastime: the Los Angeles Lakers.

They would reminisce about the Kobe and Shaq days, Buchanon said, dictating what the Lakers should do.

Adami was also part of the river rescue team, Buchanon said. “He loved being around water, so he did that for a lot of years.”

Buchanon said he didn’t know the cause of Adami’s death, saying he was told that Adami died sitting in his chair watching TV.

“He just didn’t wake up,” Buchanon said, glad that Adami didn’t suffer, but he added there’s no way to know for sure.

“Sometimes we don’t know the pain that anyone is sustaining because they’re not complaining about or we don’t live with them, so we don’t know," Buchanon said.

Though he didn’t know what led to Adami’s death, Buchanon said, a firefighter’s health is always at the forefront of the department’s mind.

“That’s why it's important to give everyone the opportunity we can to make sure health comes first, whether it’s physical or mental,” Buchanon said. “That’s the only way we’ll be able to endure, however long it’s supposed to be, and not cut ourselves short from our time.”

The department is making strides, Buchanon said, in getting testing done and making sure everyone is as physically fit as they possibly can.

“This is what we feel we’re supposed to be doing,” Buchanon said, “and then the heavenly father, he’ll do what he needs to do on his own time.”

Adami, a University of Notre Dame graduate, chose to spend his life giving back to society and his community, Buchanon said.

“You get a degree from the University of Notre Dame and then choose to join the fire department, we (wondered), ‘Why are you here?’” he laughed and added, “We all have a calling. It’s not about any attributes we might have obtained on our journey, but it’s where we feel like we’re supposed to be.”

That’s how Buchanon saw Adami, he said, as someone who wanted to give back to the community.

“If you’re a servant leader, it’s not about the degrees you hold," he said. "It’s about the goodness in your heart to want to give back your life for other lives.”

Email Tribune staff writer Camille Sarabia at csarabia@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Fire captain dies in his home after 32 years of service