Quincy Fire Ladder 2 firefighter Stephen Sweet. LISA BUL photo/The Patriot Ledger

TO THE RESCUE

Stephen Sweet

Firefighter, Quincy

Tell us about yourself

"I consider myself a typical guy who grew up in Quincy, working class. We played stickball and street hockey growing up. I’m still friends with guys from high school."
"I like the camaraderie among firefighters."
"From the very first day, I knew it was the job for me. I was 23. I’d been in the firehouse a few hours and we got called to a two-alarm fire. It was like a towering inferno to me. I came home that morning, and I remember my mother saying, 'How was work?'''
"For years I’ve played the bagpipes for the Greater Boston Firefighters Pipes and Drums – line-of-duty deaths, funerals, parades, dedication ceremonies, retirement banquets. It’s a great job."

THE SKINNY
RANK: Firefighter
AGE: 45
APPOINTED: A firefighter in 1986
HIRED IN QUINCY: 1986
BIO: Sweet grew up in North Quincy, the son of a mechanical engineer and a stay-at-home mom. After graduating from North Quincy High School, he got a bachelor’s degree in sociology from U-Mass Boston in 1985. Sweet became a firefighter at 23. He spent 15 years on Rescue-1 in Quincy Center before being reassigned to the Wollaston firehouse and Ladder-2. He married his wife, Andrea, four years ago and moved to Braintree. The couple have an 8-month-old son.
What did you want to be when you were a kid? Wasn’t sure.
What would you have been if not a firefighter: "I’d probably be in the trades. I like working with my hands.''
Best advice you ever got: Keep your mouth shut and your eyes open.
Person who gave it to you: Senior firefighters.
What do you do in your time off: Ride my Harley. Play bagpipes for Greater Boston Firefighters Pipes and Drums. Take care of my 8-month-old son, Christopher Shawn.


November 1, 2007