On an icy cold morning in Danielson, Connecticut, the
world bid farewell to Connecticut State Police Sgt. Chris Guari. Chris was 47,
married with three children and was a dedicated public servant. All the time on
the state police, he also served as a volunteer firefighter in Brooklyn, CT
working his way to Chief and was a Deputy at the time he was called home. I
only knew Chris for 4 years through my affiliation with the local fire
marshal’s association. He and his staff of troopers never missed a monthly
meeting. He supervised the Eastern District Fire & Explosion Unit for the
CSP which is an arm of the State Fire Marshal’s Office. Chris was all the
things we aspire to be. Hard-working, honest, kind, community minded and a
family man. He coached sports in between his job and being a fireman. He liked
to have fun and a cold beer now and then. Definitely our kind of guy. Definitely
anyone’s kind of guy.
Wednesday March 6, 2013 was a cold nasty day in northern
Connecticut. The wind was whipping a cold combination of rain and sleet upon us
as we waited for the funeral procession to arrive. The CSP Commander in charge
of the funeral detail lined his troopers up on one side the entry walk to the
church and placed the fire service on the other. The first thing I noted was
that we were all in this together. Just folks in uniforms in one group, in one
place for one cause. In my mind, I started to recount the number of times I’ve
stood in front of a church in Class A uniform for this very occasion whether
LODD or not. It was too many to count. (BTW-I did cheat as far as Class A’s go.
Wore my uniform winter duty coat. It was no day for a Class A “sport jacket.”
Old age I guess.) I looked across the walk way at the CSP. I immediately noted
they all looked exactly alike. Each and every person in uniform was wearing the
same exact thing, collar brass, medals etc. all in the same exact place. Very
impressive. I looked right and left and we were a mix of career and volunteers,
it was truly a mixed bag of uniforms and uniform parts as well. Most in Class
A’s. A few in winter coats, like me. My thought then was that I hoped the other
guys across the walk way weren’t looking back at us thinking “it looks like a
mixed bag over there.” I don’t think they did. We were all there for someone
else and a greater cause.
The CSP Commander snapped me out of my mental wander as
he yelled “ten hut.” We all snapped to attention as if we had all rehearsed for
days. As they opened the rear of the hearse and carried Chris inside, we got
the “present arms” command. Again, about 300 of us in unison snapped our right
hands to our hat peaks. The wind and sleet got heavier but no one moved. It
wasn’t about us. As we were dismissed when the family entered the church,
someone commented “Chris got us and he’s probably laughing” as we all retreated
to the church basement to escape the elements. The service was piped in to the
room so we were able to hear the prayer service and the speakers who eloquently
spoke about Chris, his family, his friends, his career and his life. Since I
only knew him for four years, this gave me the opportunity to really hear about
him and what he had accomplished. It was too much to list here. My only regret
was that I didn’t know him longer. As the service wound down, a CSP member asked
us to all to go outside and line up again. Ironically, the sun had poked
through while we were in the basement but as we lined up, the wind and rain
started again. The same guy on line standing next to me during the first
line-up said “he got us again” and we laughed.
So there we were. On a dark day in Northern Connecticut,
the State Police, fire service members from around the state, dignitaries
including the Commissioner, the State Fire Administrator and the State Fire
Marshal, a detail from the Massachusetts State Police, State Environmental
Protection personnel and a host of others came together to honor and pay
tribute to one person. A person who made a difference every day whether his
“nine” was on his hip or he was wearing a leather helmet while standing in
front of a burning structure. I realized then there is no difference between
any of us. Those stories of cops vs. firemen, them vs. us, and all the
bickering that takes place around the country are a waste of time and energy.
Law Enforcement has more LODD’s then the fire service does each year. Three
years ago we had 90. They had 160. The police like all of us expect to go to
work or an incident and go home afterwards. We all expect that, and our
families and friends expect to see us afterwards too. Maybe Chris brought us
together to create an example for the rest of the world. There we were, for
about 2 hours, talking, chatting, making exchanges and realizing we are the
same.
Chris like a lot of others whom we’ve come to know succumbed
to cancer at age 47. As a final unselfish act and in the interest of taking
care of those whom he loved the most, he retired last Friday which qualified
his wife and family for a host of benefits they may not have seen had he passed
while “active.” He passed away on Saturday. He was way too young to retire and way
too young to leave our midst but smart enough to take care of business. He gave,
right up to the last minute.
Nice meeting you Sarge. Rest in Peace. Till we meet
again.
Be safe & see you at FDIC,
Ronnie K
