Last Alarm
- Last alarm: July 31, 2024
- Fire service: July 1969–July 1993
- Rank at retirement: Deputy Fire Chief
- Home station: Concord Street
- First fire remembered: Eames House, Union Avenue
Listen: The Keeper of the Stories
A Life of Service
Thomas H. Rinoldo served the Framingham Fire Department for twenty-four years and retired as Deputy Fire Chief. From his first remembered fire at the Eames House on Union Avenue through a career centered at Concord Street, he served under Chiefs VanDuzer, Byrne, Ellsworth, Hancock, Hedges, and Smith.
A Retirement Well Earned
Tom embraced retirement fully. After retirement, Tom and his wife, Helen, sold their home to their son TJ and set out in a 32-foot motorhome. Their nearly two-year journey carried them through all but four of the contiguous states. Tom called it the best trip they ever took. After traveling the country with Helen in their motorhome, they settled in the Tampa area, where they built a home and began a new chapter together. He enjoyed the Florida sunshine, the freedom retirement gave them, and welcoming family and friends to visit. Tampa became more than the final stop on their journey—it became home, and the place where Tom enjoyed many well-earned years after a lifetime of service.
The Keeper of the Stories
Tom created the Framingham Retired Firefighters website so former colleagues, families, and friends could remain connected. He gathered service records, photographs, memories, and Last Alarm notices—preserving the people behind the department’s history long before online archives became commonplace.
The memorials gathered here are part of his legacy. This restored website preserves not only the stories he collected, but also the care with which he collected them.
View Tom’s original member profile →
Photographs from His Original Site
He remembered their stories. Now his story stands among them.
In loving memory of Thomas H. Rinoldo