By Cindi Lash
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)
Copyright 2007 P.G. Publishing Co.
Tom Ford had a dry way with a joke, and a fondness for teasing firefighters caught filching handfuls of M&Ms or Reese’s Pieces from the well-stocked jar on his desk.
He could be a tad grumpy before he downed a cup of coffee in the morning. He spoke often of the three daughters he adored.
But when he slid behind the wheel of a Pittsburgh fire engine or addressed the thousands of students who filled his classes on emergency medicine, Mr. Ford was all about the work of saving lives.
After learning of his death Wednesday, colleagues, friends and former students kept wondering just how many thousands of people, directly or indirectly, owed their lives to Mr. Ford’s skills as a paramedic, firefighter and teacher.
“When you look at all [the people] he’s had an impact on ... well, he was an icon,’' said Pittsburgh Fire Capt. James Petruzzi, a longtime friend, colleague and adjunct instructor at the city Fire Academy.
One of Pittsburgh’s first paramedics who was dubbed “Doc’’ when he later moved to the Fire Bureau, Mr. Ford, of Morningside, died of esophageal cancer in St. Margaret Hospital near Aspinwall. He was 56.
Born in the middle of a brood of seven redheaded children, Mr. Ford grew up in Morningside and graduated in 1968 from Central Catholic High School, said his sister, state Superior Court President Judge Kate Ford Elliott of Highland Park. He joined the Navy and worked as a corpsman at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., developing skills that would frame his professional life.
After returning to Pittsburgh, Mr. Ford became a paramedic with the city’s fledgling Emergency Medical Services Bureau in 1975. In 1989, he joined the Fire Bureau and worked for years at Engine and Truck Company 8 on Penn Circle in East Liberty.
“I think he liked the excitement, but he also saw he could take his skills right out on the truck,’' Judge Ford Elliott said.
Mr. Ford became a truck driver, pump operator and creator of excellent soups and stews during his years at No. 8. While off duty, he enjoyed family trips to the shore, honed considerable talents as a photographer and trained for marathon races in Pittsburgh, New York and Boston by running around the Highland Park reservoir and the East End.
“He’d run right through the firehouse, say hello to guys working there and just keep going,’' said Capt. Petruzzi, who began his career as a city paramedic with Mr. Ford and still works at No. 8. “I kidded him that, after 40, you’re not supposed to be running.’'
For 18 years, Mr. Ford also taught would-be paramedics from around Western Pennsylvania at the Community College of Allegheny County. In July 2003, he left the fire station to teach first-responder skills at the fire academy and, since 2005, trained new recruits to be emergency medical technicians, said Battalion Chief Robert Cox, who oversees the academy.
“He had a great sense of humor and he could speak from both the EMS side and the experience of being a great firefighter out in the field,’' Chief Cox said. “He could joke and encourage discussion, but he wanted you to do things the right way. I can’t tell you how we will replace his knowledge, or do without him.’'
In October, the academy’s most recent class of recruits graduated with an average EMT test score that was 15 points higher than the state average. “That’s all him,’' Chief Cox said.
Even after he was diagnosed in early February, Mr. Ford helped with EMT training for two more weeks. He underwent surgery Feb. 26 and remained in the hospital until his death, Judge Ford Elliott said.
“Ever since, there have been calls and e-mails, oh my goodness, from so many people’’ who Mr. Ford taught or assisted on a fire call over the years, she said. “We knew what he was like, but it is so good to know others did.’'
In addition to Judge Ford Elliott, Mr. Ford is survived by his daughters, Rebecca A. Ford of Morningside, Molly O. Ford of San Diego and Colleen M. Ford of New York City; one brother, Michael J. Ford of Mt. Lebanon; four sisters, Libby Ford of New York City, Mary Campbell of Naples, Fla., Loretto Crane of Boston, and Rita Chmill of Aspinwall; and his companion, Judy Archidiacono.
Visitation will be from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today and tomorrow at McCabe Brothers Funeral Home, Shadyside, where a funeral will be held at 9 a.m. Monday. A Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church, Shadyside.