It was the first day on the job roughly a couple of decades ago at the Bridgeport Fire Department for Rick Todd and he had already met his co-workers. And his co-workers were about to have some fun with the rookie.

 

“His first day on his first shift at the Bridgeport Fire Department it was kind of an obligation to play tricks on one another so we waited for Rick to got to bed before we acted,” said current Fire Chief Phil Hart, then a firefighter/paramedic. “He made his bed and when he was away, Mike Oldaker, who has since retired, and I got an IV bag and hung it above the ceiling and put a needle hole in it to allow it to drip.”

 

Once the newbie went to bed, Hart said they turned the water on, and Todd spent quite a while trying to figure out why water was dripping on him. He figured it out, and as history showed us, he more than figured out how to do his job.

 

“He had to take it, but as the years went on, he learned everything about being a professional firefighter, and he was absolutely professional,” said Hart. “Part of that was playing pranks on one another, and he was good at that as well.”

 

Hart was reminiscing about his friend who he said he and several others “grew up with as firefighters.” On Wednesday, word was officially released that Rick Todd had died.

 

A press released from the Harrison County Office of Emergency Management said that Todd died due to COVID-19. The release offered praise for Todd’s work in Harrison and Doddridge County. Todd, who recently retired from Bridgeport, continued to serve in his role as chief of the Salem Volunteer Fire Department.

 

“It’s been hard. A lot of guys are taking this really hard,” said Hart. “We knew he was sick, really sick, but you just aren’t ready to hear that he was gone.”

 

Todd started as a firefighter/EMT with Bridgeport. He then became a firefighter/paramedic and moved up through the ranks all the way to Captain.

 

“He was on my shift when he started,” said Hart. “We were both young guys then.”

 

Hart said he watched Todd grow into one of the best with a singular focus. The focus, he said, was to serve and help the community.

 

“He was just so intelligent in how he dealt with things, and he did this job and then served in Salem for so many years, which is something you do if you have a passion for helping others,” said Hart, who is in a similar position with Belington. “The work he did for Bridgeport, Salem and the areas they served is a testimony to his heart and desire to serve the citizens.

 

“The thing that impressed me about his service, if you want to know about how he cared, is as chief in Salem he answered most of the calls that came in. He was a working chief,” Hart continued. “Anyone involved in fire or EMS in North Central West Virginia knows Rick Todd and they know the time he put into the business. They knew him, and they respected him because he more than earned that respect.”

 

Hart said while working with Bridgeport he was a staff member no one had to worry about. He said everything, from paperwork to helping new staff, Todd handled.

 

“No matter what, he was always stepping up,” said Hart. “That’s why the guys are struggling. They lost a friend and they lost someone they respected.”

 

Editor's Note: Photos show Rick Todd on the scene of various accidents over the last eight years. As a personal note, Connect-Bridgeport staff could not be more appreciative of the kindness, courteous nature and professional manner in which he treated our staff in every dealing we had with him. He will be missed.