Frank Doolittle leans against the rack of helmets, coats, coveralls and boots along the wall in the Summitville firehouse. The simple building sits along a flat stretch of Route 209 about eight miles south of Ellenville.
Doolittle’s bald pate is offset by a bristly, brown beard that juts from his chin. He is tall, well over 6 feet. He moves gingerly to sit on the running board of the nearest fire truck. It’s the incision from the surgery, he explained.
In December, Doolittle was diagnosed with colorectal cancer that had spread to his liver. After preliminary chemotherapy, he had surgery to remove the cancer at Mount Sinai in New York City.