On August 23, 1989, Chief Allan Whitcomb suffered a fatal heart attack while preparing for the annual Fireman’s Clambake. Chief Whitcomb was on duty at the time and despite resuscitative efforts from his fellow firefighters he was pronounced dead at the hospital. He was 64 years old.
In 1977 the Fire Department was saddened with the loss of Chief Adelino Souza due to illness. The Fire Department received its first Class 1 Modular Ambulance later that year and dedicated it to Chief Souza.
Tragedy struck the Freetown Fire Department on April 13, 1941, when Hoseman Perley Wotton was killed in the line of duty. While responding to a house fire on Water Street, Hoseman Wotton fell from the apparatus in the Assonet Four Corners and died from his injuries. Engine 1’s 1994 KME pumper is dedicated to Hoseman Wotton and carries a special memorial plaque on its pump panel.
On June 6th, 2017, Former Freetown Firefighter John Ross Laronda died in the line of duty from an injury sustained at a fire. Firefighter Laronda served on the fire department with distinction before moving to Virginia where he joined the Alta Vista Volunteer Fire Company and quickly rose to the rank of captain. John Ross was a great firefighter but an even greater person, a rare individual who led by example without seeking recognition. The sorrow that we feel for John is one of loss as we are all diminished when such a young man of honor passes from our ranks.