PORT ANGELES — An unprecedented flag ceremony honored two retiring Port Angeles firefighter paramedics.
The Port Angeles Fire Department flew two American flags over the station and presented them to Pete Sekac and Mel Twitchell on Friday in the first retirement ceremony of its kind for the department.
Sekac will retire with 37 years of service to the department, and Twitchell will retire with 33.
“Between them, they have like 80 years of experience,” Fire Chief Ken Dubuc said. “It’s incredible.”
Port Angeles firefighters circled in front of the station for the ceremony, and Dubuc stood in the center.
“I’m wondering in the back of my mind, ‘How are we going to replace these guys?’ And we’re not,” Dubuc said, looking onto his crew and then to Sekac and Twitchell on his left. “It’s just not going to happen.”
First, Dubuc presented the flag to Sekac, who joined the department in 1980 before the medic program existed.
“How many of you were alive in 1980?” he asked, jokingly.
A few hands shot up.
“Thank you for going above and beyond to serve Port Angeles,” Dubuc said to Sekac. “Thank you for your 37 years of service.”
Addressing Sekac’s wife, Theresa, he said, “Thank you for letting us borrow your husband for 37 years.”
Then, Dubuc presented the flag to Twitchell.
Twitchell moved to Port Angeles to join the department in 1984 after working as a paramedic in Pierce County.
“Thank you for your 33 years of dedication and commitment,” Dubuc said.
“Again, thank you for letting us borrow your husband for 33 years,” he said to Twitchell’s wife, Lynne.
Asked to say a few words, Sekac and Twitchell echoed each other. They both said they’ve worked with the “best people” around.
Looking back on their careers, Sekac and Twitchell counted at least four different fire chiefs and five, maybe six, city managers.
Much has changed since they first joined the department.
About 30 years ago, all the radio calls came into the radio room at the station, and one person manned all of them. The room contained only a cot and a 19-inch TV, Sekac said.
“You spent a lot of nights in the radio room starting out,” Theresa said to Sekac. “It was usually a junior guy.”
Since then, the call volume has increased “exponentially,” and memories of one person managing all the calls seems incredulous now, Twitchell said.
Despite the growth in calls, neither could think of challenges in their careers — at least not in the loose connotation of the word. The “challenge” is inherent to the job.
“Each call, you deal with the situation,” Sekac said. “It always gets taken care of.”
The hesitancy to name challenges seems consistent with their characters, according to Dubuc.
“I can’t remember — not one day — when I heard one of them complaining,” Dubuc said.
They did, however, recall plenty of reheated dinners throughout 33 and 37 years.
“At least one meal a day gets interrupted,” Sekac said.
Sometimes, the same meal gets interrupted twice.
Lynne recalled one time when Twitchell and the other paramedics left their dinners in the oven to reheat. Then, a call came in. When they returned to the station, they found their dinners aflame.
In retirement, both Twitchell and Sekac plan to spend uninterrupted time — and meals — with family.
Pete and Theresa Sekac plan to travel to Europe first and then take an Alaskan cruise.
Mel and Lynne Twitchell are planning to fly to England in September for the birth of their 17th grandchild.
Fire districts across the Olympic Peninsula took notice of Sekac and Twitchell’s farewell on Friday.
A rare message came over the radio to conclude the flag ceremony. A dispatcher announced Sekac and Twitchell’s retirement to all the fire districts in the area.
“We salute you and say congratulations,” the dispatcher said.
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Reporter Sarah Sharp can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56650, or at ssharp@peninsula dailynews.com.
