It was a momentous occasion for Bill Cox, the fire chief of the Powassan Fire Department.
Cox is celebrating 50 years of firefighting service this year, all of it in Powassan, and a meet and greet was held at the local fire hall to mark the milestone.
About 150 people, most of them from Powassan, took part in the event to congratulate Cox.
The town's event coordinator Kathie Hogan organized the meet and greet with help from the local firefighters.
Hogan said many firefighters from surrounding communities, like Chisholm, Nipissing, Laurier, Restoule, Laurier, Arnstein, North Bay and north of North Bay showed up.
Hogan says an official from the Office of the Fire Marshal of Ontario also dropped by to congratulate Cox.
A few mayors, plus Nipissing-Timiskaming MP Anthony Rota and Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli, were at the event, each bringing a certificate recognizing Cox's 50 years of community service.
There were also many congratulatory cards including one from the grade one class at Mapleridge Public School.
“Bill has a granddaughter in that class, and all the students made a card with their own art, and Bill's grandchildren presented it to him at the meet and greet,” Hogan said.
Cox told the North Bay Nugget the event was on the emotional side for him.
Cox said he knew the meet and greet was in the works but was expecting a simple affair with hot dogs and hamburgers served to the well wishers.
Cox appreciates that so many people turned up for the event, but said “it's not like I had to have a party for the 50 years ... I was simply doing the job I like doing,” he said.
“I don't think what I did was super special. It's just what I did everyday. None of us are out there looking for praise”.
There were several gifts presented to Cox including a large framed picture taken by his daughter-in-law Amanda Cox of 'Big Red'.
'Big Red' is the fire truck with a 105-foot ladder the department acquired for next to nothing a couple of years ago.
Cox's brother, Ken Cox, is a retired captain with the Brampton Fire Department, and he helped make the contacts for the fire truck to arrive in Powassan.
“It's was appraised at $250,000, but we only paid $35, and that was for a license plate,” said the fire chief.
The photograph depicts 'Big Red' outside the fire hall and has a dedication commemorating Cox's 50 years as a firefighter.
Numerous people also signed the back of the framed print.
Cox said it was the kind of gift a person becomes teary-eyed over.
Cox addressed the crowd, and one thing he made a point of emphasizing was that it's the spouses of firefighters who make what they do possible.
They're the ones who watch their husband or wife leave regardless of time of day to answer the emergency call.
Cox's wife, Carol, told the Nugget the life of a firefighter is one where “you have to expect interruptions' '.
“You never know when there's going to be a fire, and if you're preparing something, you have to know it could fall through if there's a fire call,” said Carol Cox.
Cox is originally from Richmond Hill and met her future husband decades ago at a nearby cottage lake where she would vacation.
After the couple met, she recalls that Cox was late picking her up on their first date.
She had no idea he was a volunteer firefighter.
When he finally arrived, the first thing she noticed was that he smelled like hickory as if he had come from a home with a wood-burning stove.
Cox quickly explained he smelled the way he did and was late for their first date because he had responded to a fire.
There would be many more fire calls in the years ahead.
When asked if it's tough being the wife of a firefighter, Cox said no.
The question reminded Cox of what her mother told her long ago about acceptance.
“Whatever comes before you in life, don't try to fight it because you're not in control,” Cox said.
Cox said the meet and greet made her proud of her husband who she sometimes calls Mr. Municipality.
“He grew up here and is so well known,” she said.
“He's always served in different roles and was on town council for 10 years. He's always busy helping people”.
The meet and greet also signaled an upcoming end to Cox's career.
It was September 24th, 1974 when Cox first signed on with the Powassan Fire Department.
Cox announced at the meet and greet that this September 24th he'll be hanging up his fire chief's helmet exactly 50 years to the day he first became a firefighter.
The municipality has now begun the search for his replacement.