Published: Jun 23, 2023 at 7:00 am
Richard Brady, a former chief of Botsford Fire Service who passed away in December 2022, left a strong legacy in Newtown. More recently, all his good deeds were not only recognized but contributed to him giving a generous charity in return to help his surviving wife and daughter.
Brown Roofing of Seymour created a program called Roofing For Humanity where a replacement roof is given away to a select recipient each year. Last year, Brown started the program to help a family who has been supporting their community and need help of their own.
“We’ve made giving back part of our culture,” said owner Eddie Griffin. “We wanted to give something back to the Bradys because they gave so much.”
The program had four finalists and Amy Brady was selected as a finalist. Amy lives with her daughter Becky and her 90-year-old mother in the home she once shared with Richard.
The house needed a roof, but economic insecurity made it difficult for the family to fit the house with an expensive new roof. Then Brown Roofing and Griffin were made aware of Amy’s story.
Brown Roofing staff were on hand on June 15th to carry out the roof repair along with members of Botsford Fire Rescue who were on hand to provide any assistance and show their support.
Amy lost her husband when he was just 63 after he was struggling with serious health problems. Richard was the main breadwinner for his wife, son and daughter for many years.
Throughout his life Richard has made a difference to the community as a volunteer with Botsford Fire Rescue. He was a charter member of the Newtown Underwater Search and Rescue Team and a member of the Stepney Baptist Church of Monroe, where he served as a deacon and was involved in music ministry.
Richard had been with Botsford since 1977. In 1988 he was Botsford’s second deputy boss and from 1996 to 1998; the first deputy chief from 1989 to 1991 and from 1999 to 2000; and boss from 2001 to 2003.
Community service was a family affair even before Amy met Richard at a raffle in Turkey in Botsford when she was a paramedic and he was a volunteer firefighter. They eventually got together as a couple while training together at a dive rescue course when NUSAR was first getting off the ground.
Amy said she “always has been [part of] a generous family;’ Her father was a volunteer firefighter and her mother was a paramedic before her.
“It was a way of life,” Amy said.
One way Richard left a lasting legacy for the Botsford Fire Service, apart from all the firefighters who remember him fondly and came to help in any way they could with the roofing project, is with the pair of fire hose nozzles that he made personally as a tool by Formenbauer.
Botsford Fire Rescue member Bill McAllister noted that the two nozzles that Richard spent some 1,800 hours making over the course of a year during his coffee and lunch breaks at work “have been used and abused for 25 years and are still 100 percent work”.
“Not many people can say their legacy is still at the end of a hose line,” McAllister said. “Every time we pick up a hose it brings back memories of Rich.”
Capable of throwing 200 gallons of water per minute to a range of 60 feet, the 1-inch nozzles feature a “longer throat for a much better jet,” McAllister said.
Botsford first assistant boss Pete Blomberg said Botsford came to support Amy as Richard was “not just the boss but a friend”. Blomberg said Brady’s children “were at the firehouse all the time” during Richard’s time at the station.
“We are very grateful to Brown Roofing,” said Blomberg. “Rich gave a lot and now they’re giving back.”
Associate editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.
Brown Roofing employees work on the Brady family home on June 15. – Bee Photo, Taylor
A group shot of Becky Brady, Amy Brady, Amy’s mother, members of the Botsford Fire Rescue and members of Brown Roofing. – Bee photo, Taylor
Botsford Fire Rescue member Bill McAllister (left) displays one of the firefighting nozzles made by the late Botsford Fire Chief Richard Brady while Brown Roofing owner Eddie Griffin (right) looks on. – Bee photo, Taylor
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