LEWISTON – Arlon “Butch” Webster, a veteran of the Lewiston Fire Department, retired on Jan. 5, after serving for more than 30 years.

He was hired in September 1977 and was stationed mostly at the Main Street substation, which quickly became his favorite station, although, he added, “No one station or truck is better than the other. It all depends on the crew.”

When Webster was hired, there was no formal training like there is today. It was “on-the-job training.” His first day was on a Friday, and when he got off duty there was a big fire at the Gateway building on the corner of Lisbon and Main streets. Most of the department had not yet met Webster, so when he arrived to assist at the fire, everyone asked, “Who’s he?”

Safety was lax then, Webster said. Standing on the rear tailgate or on the side near the engine was common. Air masks were an option then. Firefighters who wore one were scoffed at and were considered not “tough enough,” said Webster.

As a nonsmoker, he was in the minority in the past, said Webster, but today it is the other way around.

Webster recalls responding to some serious accident scenes, including a crash on the Old Greene Road where a motorcycle had crashed into a pickup truck and two people on the bike and a baby from the truck died.

Another heartbreaking accident, Webster remembered, was a freakish situation where a huge tree fell on a moving car and a big branch went through the windshield, impaling a woman. Webster said she talked to him until she died.

An avid runner, good with computers and a woodworking hobbyist, Webster plans to pursue his interests during retirement.