VIDEO/PHOTOS: A Natick firefighter who hung up his helmet after 30 years with the department is passing the torch to his daughter, a firefighter/EMT. Tom Reynolds shared a final dinner with his fellow firefighters in the kitchen of the Natick Fire Dept. headquarters Sunday night, with his daughters Jillian and Nicole beside him to celebrate his retirement.
Jillian Reynolds, 26, joined Natick Fire in January 2024, following in her fatherโs footsteps and embraced by coworkers she has known since she was a child. โItโs bittersweet. It was a great career, but itโs definitely time to leave and hand it off to the younger generation. Iโm a grandfather on the shift now,โ Tom Reynolds said. โIโm able to hand the torch over to Jillian now. So, itโs a very proud dad moment.โ
Jillian grew up admiring her father and his profession, spending many hours at the firehouse. โAs a kid, I was always super fascinated by my dadโs career,โ Jillian told Boston 25 News. โWeโd be in elementary school looking around at fire drills to see if he was there, and we were always super excited to say, โThatโs my dad!โโ
Despite the inherent dangers of the job, the elder Reynolds knows his little girl is up to the task. โItโs great having women in the fire service,โ he said. โJillian is unbelievably capable of her job. And I know that sheโs well trainedโฆ So, thatโs comforting.โ
On Sunday, Jillian swapped shifts with another firefighter so she could spend her dadโs last 24-hour shift with him. The two responded to several emergencies together, and, between calls, snapped pictures in their matching โReynoldsโ turnout gear. โThere was one day we were on this truck together,โ Jillian recalled of a recent shift with her dad. โI was driving, he was the officer. We had a little fire we put out together. That was kind of a cool moment for us.โ
