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10-27-2011, 03:24 PM
Local NewsHome News Local News Former Kingston Township fire chief ‘a great mentor’ Former Kingston Township fire chief ‘a great mentor’
By Mike Norris The Whig-Standard
Posted 21 hours ago
Walter Bush was more than just a fire chief in title only.
"He had a passion for the role and the function of the fire service," said Glenn Gow, who succeeded Bush as Kingston Township fire chief in 1993. "That was the mainstay of his career and his life.
"Walter was a great person for teaching men, guiding them and giving them direction."
Bush, who was Kingston Township fire chief from 1963 to 1993, died Tuesday at Kingston General Hospital, where he had been a patient for the past few weeks.
He was 85.
Bush was a firefighter with the Department of National Defence when he joined the Kingston Township volunteer fire department in 1954, the same year the department was established with stations on Days Road and in Elginburg. He became the department's first full-time employee in 1958, serving as a training instructor before becoming fire chief in 1963.
"He was a great mentor," said Gow. "He encouraged me to prepare myself for a future in the fire service.
"He was wonderful to work with and to work for. I have nothing but compliments and praise for Walter."
The department, which became part of the amalgamated City of Kingston in 1997, was composed solely of volunteers for almost 50 years.
Gow said that Bush had a knack for utilizing the talents of the volunteer firefighters, who included mechanics, carpenters, electricians and a minister.
"When it came to auto extrication, before the Jaws of Life, he wanted the mechanics to go in first because they know the car," said Gow, who joined the Kingston Township Fire Department in the early 1970s and served as deputy chief from 1982 to 1993. "He had a talent for doing that kind of stuff.
"He treated them well. He respected them and expected them to act as professionals as well.
"He got great loyalty from them. People from other fire services used to ask me, 'How come those volunteers work harder for you than mine do for me?' "
Bush also made sure his firefighters were well trained.
"He gave all the volunteer firefighters the opportunity to go to (Ontario) Fire College and take courses," said Gow.
Isabel Turner, who served 17 years on Kingston Township council, including 12 as reeve from 1985 to 1997, called Bush "a very caring person."
"He cared very much about his fire department," she said. "He ran it well. He ensured they had good equipment and were well trained.
"He did a very fine job for Kingston Township. His dedication to that fire department is unquestionable."
Gow said Bush always had an open door and firefighters didn't hesitate to come to him to talk about personal issues.
"He was willing to sit and listen and help out," he said. "People appreciated that.
"He taught me, and this was early in my job as deputy chief, to always pay attention to what happens on the floor (of the fire station). If it was too quiet, or the guys were stressed out, he would sit down and talk to them or say something funny."
From the 1970s through the early '90s, Bush, with the co-operation of local high schools, allowed young people who were having trouble in school to do odd jobs around the stations, such as mopping floors, washing the trucks and cleaning equipment.
"He helped a lot of young people with problems," said Gow, who was fire chief for the City of Kingston from 1997 until his retirement in early 2002. "Some would come back and apply for volunteer firefighter jobs. Some got hired as volunteers."
In 1997, the fire station on Unity Road in Glenburnie was named the Walter A. Bush Fire Hall in his honour (the A stands for Amos). Gow named the fire hall after Bush, but took some flack from township council because he did so without its approval and because buildings in the municipality weren't supposed to be named after people who were still living.
"I made sure I had the firefighters' support," said Gow. "After (council) scolded me, they thanked me and named the library after Isabel Turner (later that year)."
Bush was an avid hunter, fisherman and woodworker. He built his own woodworking shop in his home.
"He loved to refinish old antiques," said his granddaughter, Michelle Fairfax. "He would buy them at auctions, refinish them and sell them. He liked anything made of real wood."
Gow said Bush had all kinds of antiques in his rec room.
"He could tell you (a story) about every antique in the house."
Until he had a stroke five years ago, Bush spent a lot of time at a hunting camp he owned on Fifth Depot Lake, west of Parham, where he would hunt ducks and deer.
He also had favourite fishing locations, which Fairfax called "his secret hiding spots."
"He never let anyone know where they were," said Fairfax, who went on occasional fishing outings with her grandfather when she was younger.
"You were almost blindfolded. Or he would take the long way there so you would have a hard time remembering where it was."
He was also an avid gardener, said Fairfax, with "an acre of potatoes" that he would store and eat during the winter months.
Bush was born and raised in Kingston, the son of Ernest Amos Bush, a farmer from Godfrey, and Ellen Jane Pero of Mountain Grove.
He is survived by two daughters, Patricia Fairfax and Linda Serson, six grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, four sisters and a brother. He was predeceased by his son, Earl, a former Kingston Township deputy reeve and volunteer firefighter, in 1995 and by one brother and one sister.
There will be no funeral service. Cremation will take place, followed by interment at Glenhaven Memorial Gardens.
mnorris@thewhig.com
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Article ID# 3347891
By Mike Norris The Whig-Standard
Posted 21 hours ago
Walter Bush was more than just a fire chief in title only.
"He had a passion for the role and the function of the fire service," said Glenn Gow, who succeeded Bush as Kingston Township fire chief in 1993. "That was the mainstay of his career and his life.
"Walter was a great person for teaching men, guiding them and giving them direction."
Bush, who was Kingston Township fire chief from 1963 to 1993, died Tuesday at Kingston General Hospital, where he had been a patient for the past few weeks.
He was 85.
Bush was a firefighter with the Department of National Defence when he joined the Kingston Township volunteer fire department in 1954, the same year the department was established with stations on Days Road and in Elginburg. He became the department's first full-time employee in 1958, serving as a training instructor before becoming fire chief in 1963.
"He was a great mentor," said Gow. "He encouraged me to prepare myself for a future in the fire service.
"He was wonderful to work with and to work for. I have nothing but compliments and praise for Walter."
The department, which became part of the amalgamated City of Kingston in 1997, was composed solely of volunteers for almost 50 years.
Gow said that Bush had a knack for utilizing the talents of the volunteer firefighters, who included mechanics, carpenters, electricians and a minister.
"When it came to auto extrication, before the Jaws of Life, he wanted the mechanics to go in first because they know the car," said Gow, who joined the Kingston Township Fire Department in the early 1970s and served as deputy chief from 1982 to 1993. "He had a talent for doing that kind of stuff.
"He treated them well. He respected them and expected them to act as professionals as well.
"He got great loyalty from them. People from other fire services used to ask me, 'How come those volunteers work harder for you than mine do for me?' "
Bush also made sure his firefighters were well trained.
"He gave all the volunteer firefighters the opportunity to go to (Ontario) Fire College and take courses," said Gow.
Isabel Turner, who served 17 years on Kingston Township council, including 12 as reeve from 1985 to 1997, called Bush "a very caring person."
"He cared very much about his fire department," she said. "He ran it well. He ensured they had good equipment and were well trained.
"He did a very fine job for Kingston Township. His dedication to that fire department is unquestionable."
Gow said Bush always had an open door and firefighters didn't hesitate to come to him to talk about personal issues.
"He was willing to sit and listen and help out," he said. "People appreciated that.
"He taught me, and this was early in my job as deputy chief, to always pay attention to what happens on the floor (of the fire station). If it was too quiet, or the guys were stressed out, he would sit down and talk to them or say something funny."
From the 1970s through the early '90s, Bush, with the co-operation of local high schools, allowed young people who were having trouble in school to do odd jobs around the stations, such as mopping floors, washing the trucks and cleaning equipment.
"He helped a lot of young people with problems," said Gow, who was fire chief for the City of Kingston from 1997 until his retirement in early 2002. "Some would come back and apply for volunteer firefighter jobs. Some got hired as volunteers."
In 1997, the fire station on Unity Road in Glenburnie was named the Walter A. Bush Fire Hall in his honour (the A stands for Amos). Gow named the fire hall after Bush, but took some flack from township council because he did so without its approval and because buildings in the municipality weren't supposed to be named after people who were still living.
"I made sure I had the firefighters' support," said Gow. "After (council) scolded me, they thanked me and named the library after Isabel Turner (later that year)."
Bush was an avid hunter, fisherman and woodworker. He built his own woodworking shop in his home.
"He loved to refinish old antiques," said his granddaughter, Michelle Fairfax. "He would buy them at auctions, refinish them and sell them. He liked anything made of real wood."
Gow said Bush had all kinds of antiques in his rec room.
"He could tell you (a story) about every antique in the house."
Until he had a stroke five years ago, Bush spent a lot of time at a hunting camp he owned on Fifth Depot Lake, west of Parham, where he would hunt ducks and deer.
He also had favourite fishing locations, which Fairfax called "his secret hiding spots."
"He never let anyone know where they were," said Fairfax, who went on occasional fishing outings with her grandfather when she was younger.
"You were almost blindfolded. Or he would take the long way there so you would have a hard time remembering where it was."
He was also an avid gardener, said Fairfax, with "an acre of potatoes" that he would store and eat during the winter months.
Bush was born and raised in Kingston, the son of Ernest Amos Bush, a farmer from Godfrey, and Ellen Jane Pero of Mountain Grove.
He is survived by two daughters, Patricia Fairfax and Linda Serson, six grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, four sisters and a brother. He was predeceased by his son, Earl, a former Kingston Township deputy reeve and volunteer firefighter, in 1995 and by one brother and one sister.
There will be no funeral service. Cremation will take place, followed by interment at Glenhaven Memorial Gardens.
mnorris@thewhig.com
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Article ID# 3347891