LOCAL NEWS

 Veteran, rookie battle blaze side by side

 By Norman Miller

 Friday, October 25, 2002

HOPKINTON - Last night's two-alarm fire was memorable for two Ashland firefighters, but for completely different reasons. For a veteran, it was the last fire he was going to fight. For the rookie, it was the first of many. Firefighter Ron Dakai officially retired at 8 this morning after 34 years in the Ashland Fire Department. For Dave Retalic, who started on the job Tuesday, last night's fire was the first of his career. Both said they were excited when the mutual aid call came in to the station. "I was hoping for a call all day so I could get out of the station," said Dakai. "It's fun. It makes you feel useful up to the final minute." Retalic said, "It's exciting. It's what you do. This is my first. There was a little bit of anxiousness, because you never know what you're going to." Dakai joined the department Aug. 1, 1968, and became a full-time firefighter in 1986. The 52-year-old said he has a lot of memories, some good, and some bad. "I got to deliver two babies, one of them's about 13 years old now," said Dakai. "The worst one was when we had to carry the bodies out of the old Clocktown Liquors. You never want another of those." With retirement, Dakai said he plans to work in his basement woodshop, and said he may sell the knickknacks he makes at area shops "It's going to be missed, definitely," said Dakai. "Thirty-four years is a long time to do this, you start to get burnt out. As you get older, you don't feel like you're pulling your weight or able to keep up with the younger guys." One of those younger guys, Retalic said he benefited from knowing Dakai through the department's training. "You can learn from guys like that," said Retalic. "They have job experience, and that helps a lot." He said he came to the job with a different perspective than many other new firefighters. "I'm older than the average person who gets on the job," said Retalic, 37. "This was a lot different than the training. In training, it was a controlled situation." Once Retalic got to 253 West Main St. in Hopkinton and saw the flames, the butterflies in his stomach disappeared, and he said adrenaline took over. "There was no fear there because I knew I had a good team backing me up," he said.