PLAINFIELD — For more than five decades, Ed Morann has served as a member of the Plainfield Fire Department, one of many ways the former police chief and highway superintendent has served his community. That era came to an end earlier this month when he turned in his turnout gear — at age 80.
“I told them before, if I turn 80 I was going to do it,” said Morann, who retired as a captain.
Asked why he spent so long as a firefighter, Morann had a simple answer. “I just want to help the town out,” Morann said. “Up here we don’t have many people.”
Morann first started fighting fires when he was 15 — when firefighting was handled by the Plainfield Men’s Club. He said the first time he went to a fire, he was attending Smith Vocational and he was ordered out of school to fight a forest fire in Plainfield.
“We fought that for a week,” Morann said.
He would go on to become an official member of the department in 1965.
Morann first moved to Plainfield when he was 2 years old and, aside from when he and his wife, Sandy, lived in Haydenville for a year and a half, has lived there ever since.
“We’ve been on every committee almost, her and I,” Morann said.
Morann was police chief for 31 years and retired as highway superintendent at age 64. He also served as emergency manager for the town at one time, and a number of these positions overlapped.
His career as a police officer also ended earlier this year, when he gave up being a special officer in June.
Ed and Sandy Morann have known each other since the third grade — she moved to Plainfield when she was 8 years old.
The pair began dating in 1959 and got married in 1963, although Sandy’s mother originally disapproved of their romance because Morann accidentally ran over and killed their dog.
“She kind of held a grudge,” Sandy said.
Sandy praised Plainfield, describing it as a “wonderful town.”
“People work together. People take care of each other,” she said. “We love it here.”
She also noted that her great-granddaughter is the fourth generation of her family to go through Sanderson Academy in Ashfield, just as she did.
Sandy has served as a police officer in Plainfield, and she was part of the Ladies Fire Axillary that was formed in town in the 1970s following a grass fire at her house, due to the men in the Fire Department not always being around. Sandy learned how to drive a firetruck and use a pump, but she and other auxiliary members weren’t allowed to go inside burning buildings.
She was also a dispatcher for years in Plainfield for the Police, Fire and Highway departments, a job that she performed from her house.
“I had the frequency for all the departments,” she said.
Howard Bronstein, a former selectman and Fire Department member, had a lot of praise for the Moranns, describing them as a “treasure.”
“Before I form an opinion I want to know what they think,” he said.
Bronstein said his own father and Morann are two of the few men he’s idolized. And he said that tending early morning cooking fires at the Plainfield Volunteer Firefighters Association’s annual chicken barbecue with Morann “was one of my favorite times of the year.”
Fire Chief David Alvord said Morann has had to scale back his involvement in the department due to health reasons over the last 10 years. However, he noted that Morann still provided valuable information on fire scenes.
“He has a wealth of knowledge,” Alvord said.
Bronstein also shared Alvord’s assessment. “His wisdom will always be sought out,” he said.
Alvord also noted that a few weeks back Morann was the first person on the scene at a car accident in Plainfield, and that he subsequently began directing traffic.
Alvord said that the Moranns have agreed to stay on as members of the Plainfield Volunteer Firefighters Association, which provides support and raises money for the Fire Department.
“We like the people,” said Morann, on their decision to stay members. “All the guys who are on have always been nice,” he said. “Chief’s always been good.”
He did say, however, that he won’t miss being called in at any time.
“I don’t have to worry about that anymore,” Morann said.
Now that he’s officially retired from the department, Morann will also continue to work at Ed’s Auto Repair in Plainfield. However, he will also have some tasks to do on the home front as well.
“I have a honey-do list that’s so long,” Sandy said.