The Ryans—Tyler, Henry and Jason—stand by some equipment Sept. 22, 2014 at Mercerville Fire Company, where they all serve. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.)
By Jessica Oates
On a Sunday afternoon at the Mercerville Fire Company station, three generations of Ryans reflected on the path that had lead them there.
There’s Deputy Chief Henry Ryan, 76, who signed up to serve the Hamilton community in 1970. And there are his son Jason and grandson Tyler, who followed suit in the years after.
For the Ryan family, firefighting is in the blood. While lineage can be a powerful motivator, it had little do with Henry Ryan’s decision to start what has become a Ryan family—and Mercerville Fire—tradition. All he wanted was to be with his friends.
“I had a grandfather who was a member of the Hamilton fire company and an uncle who was the commissioner at White Horse, but they didn’t really have anything to do with my decision to be a firefighter,” Henry said. “I went to school with a few guys who became members here, and that had more to do with it.”
Henry Ryan went to Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, and spent 43 years working for the state before he retired this past July. He continues to serve the Mercerville Fire company as a volunteer, and mentor to Jason and Tyler.
“Once volunteering is in your blood, it’s hard to get it out,” he said.
Such was the case for Jason, who often went on calls with his father as a child and joined Mercerville Fire Company as a volunteer junior firefighter in 1989 at age 13. Now, 25 years later, he is a career line supervisor for the department.
“I was young, and seeing all of the fire trucks and going on the calls with him always impressed me,” Jason said.
“I had red lights and sirens in my car and it was his job to run them,” Henry said.
Over the years that they have served together, Henry and Jason have had plenty of opportunities to go out on calls together. Henry said the pair’s first fire together was the blaze that claimed the Old Heidelberg Restaurant on Hamilton Avenue.
Though on the call together, the father and son had minimal interaction with each other on the scene.
“I had one side of the building and he had the other, but it was cool to be on the scene of a big fire, as unfortunate as it was,” Jason said.
Now, Tyler has begun his journey as a firefighter, having joined the company as a volunteer a few months ago. It is his ambition to become a career firefighter like his father, and he is well supported in this endeavor.
“I come here for meetings and drills and to spend time with my dad and grandfather so that they can teach me how everything works,” said the 16-year-old, a junior at Steinert High School.
Firefighters are now trained to do much more than just fight fires, and both Henry and Jason have advised Tyler to make the most of every training opportunity.
“If you work hard and learn as much as you can in your field, it makes the job that much more fun,” said Henry, who explained that training has increased and expanded significantly since he joined the company in 1970.
“We are trained to do heavy rescue and to provide EMS services. In order to be here, you have to have a well-rounded education,” said Jason, who works as an EMT. “The career staff is part of a special operations team that performs low and high angle rescue and hazmat services.”
But, as Tyler has found out, even volunteers spend plenty of time learning and researching. They recently spent a weekend trying to get information about tanker trucks. Volunteers have to do at least 12 hours a month to stay in good standing.
“There are some people who are busy with jobs and other responsibilities and manage to put in their 12, and some people who are here much more frequently,” Henry said.
With all that hard work and time spent together, members of a fire company become like a family; they attend each others’ weddings and celebrate each others’ milestones. When members of the fire family actually are family, that’s an extra bonus—as the Ryans know.
As Tyler continues his training as a firefighter, he knows he has plenty of support and plenty of resources to help him be successful. He has two readymade mentors, after all.
“Right now I’m still learning where everything is and how everything is used,” Tyler said. “When the time comes, I feel like I’ll be ready.”
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