POUGHKEEPSIE – A man who spent 25 years in public service that spanned four years in the US Navy and 21 years in the Poughkeepsie Fire Department hung up his gear for the last time on Thursday. Lieutenant Ryan Walsh, assigned to Engine 3 on Hooker Avenue, was saluted by current and retired Poughkeepsie firefighters, officers of the Fairview Fire Department, friends, and family as he received his last dispatch from Poughkeepsie City 911 on Thursday at noon.
Walsh, who joined the career department in 2005, was thanked for a “lifetime of service” during the dispatch.
In 2011, he was assigned to Ladder 1 and spent a dozen years operating out of the North Clover Street firehouse. In 2023, a change was made as a result of Walsh being promoted to Lieutenant. With the promotion and new collar bars, he was assigned to be the lieutenant on Engine 3, operating out of the Hooker Avenue firehouse.
“You are a gentleman, a survivor, and now a retiree,” the dispatch said, and he was then encouraged to treat every day as a Saturday.
Following the march past his fellow firefighters who saluted him, Walsh and his family joined the brothers of IAFF Local 596, who arranged a catered lunch from Emiliano’s on Main Street.
Just before walking into the community room, Walsh was overheard talking to another firefighter, saying, “Is it too late to change my mind?”
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