Jimmy Birmingham: One of the Nicest People You Could Meet
Dear Editor:
Jimmy Birmingham had been a Chelsea firefighter for only three months when I became chief of the Chelsea Fire Department.
Jimmy was one of the nicest people you could meet and he was a “fun person” to be around. I wish I had a hundred Jimmy Birmingham’s on the department when I was chief.
Jimmy performed both fire suppression and fire prevention duties, making him a well-rounded firefighter and officer. If that wasn’t enough, he served the Chelsea Firefighters Local 937 as vice president and furthermore was a member of the Firefighters’ Critical Incident Stress Management Team (CISM).
I find it somewhat ironic that Jimmy was born on Sept. 11 (1960). I say this because Jimmy was in New York City for a Red Sox baseball game when terrorists crashed airliners into the Twin Towers.
Jimmy being the caring person he was, worked for an extended period of time at “Ground Zero” as a team member of CISM, placing the health and well- being of others before his own.
Shortly after I retired in July, 2003, Jimmy developed serious health problems causing him to retire sooner than he wanted. In my opinion, many of Jimmy’s health concerns were a directly result of firefighting and responding to “Ground Zero.”
Because of 911, Jimmy served his country and his community. He served with dedication, commitment, professional competence, and devotion to duty. Jimmy’s superior performance of duty reflected great credit upon himself, his country, the City of Chelsea, and the Chelsea Fire Department.
He will be forever missed.
Sincerely,
Louis Addonizzio
Ret. CFD Chief