CARIBOU, Maine — David Brissette never once fought a fire, but for his comrades at Caribou Fire & Ambulance, he was as much a brother and friend as any firefighter they ever came to know.
Brissette, who died on May 14 at age 66, was a mainstay at the Caribou fire station decades before the department officially named him an honorary firefighter last year.
Brissette had Williams Syndrome, which typically causes developmental delays but can lead to someone having a social, friendly personality. Brissette visited the station every day for supper with the crew. He often helped wash the fire trucks, chatted with firefighters about their work and families and eventually received his own uniform and gear.
It all started one day in 1977 when the fire station was still part of the Caribou Municipal Building on High Street. The 22-year-old Brissette would sit across the street on a bench outside the library, watching as the fire trucks passed by.
Then a firefighter invited Brissette inside for a tour of the station. From then on, the station — which later moved to its current location down the road from city hall — became a second home to Brissette.
And Brissette became a member of the Caribou Fire & Ambulance family.
“No matter who he met, that fireman became a brother to him,” said Capt. Danny Raymond, who recalled meeting Brissette in the late 1970s. “We accepted him like we would any firefighter. He was a firefighter to us.”
CARIBOU, Maine — July 8, 2021 — David Brissette sits inside a Caribou fire truck on the day he was named an honorary firefighter. (Courtesy of Caribou Fire & Ambulance)
Brissette’s biggest joy came from riding in his favorite fire trucks, especially Engine One. He became a regular part of local parades, beaming with pride as he sat inside a fire truck and waved to the cheering crowds.
Though no one knows exactly how, Brissette was able to tell if a particular truck had moved from its usual spot in the garage.
“First thing he’d do is go to the main floor and check out the trucks. He’d say, ‘I see Engine One moved. Did you guys go to a fire today?’,” Raymond said.
Brissette’s sister Linda Masse of New Canada recalled how his fascination with firefighting began after members of the fire department brought Christmas presents to the Brissette family.
That year, the family had moved from their farm to a neighborhood downtown and had been struggling financially. Her brother instantly felt connected to the firefighters because of their generosity and friendly spirits, Masse said.
Those connections continued even after Brissette moved to Mercy Home, an assisted living facility in Eagle Lake, in 2012. His friends from Caribou Fire Department visited him even in the months just before his death.
“[David] was in his element at the fire station and he never forgot those days. That family was his pride and joy,” Masse said. “Even when he was a [Mercy Home] resident, he would get excited whenever they visited.”
After Brissette died, firefighters from Aroostook and beyond paid tribute and gave him a procession and burial worthy of a true fireman.
The tributes began in Bangor when Caribou native and Assistant Fire Chief Chandler Corriveau oversaw the escort of Brissette’s body from Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center to a local funeral home.
One week after Brissette’s death, fire crews from Fort Kent, North Lakes Fire & Rescue and Caribou took part in a procession from Fort Kent to a Caribou funeral home. Family, friends, current and retired firefighters stood along the route and saluted as each fire crew took turns escorting their adopted brother home.
Many of those same people gathered at a local cemetery two days later to say their final goodbyes and to watch Caribou Fire ceremoniously lay Brissette to rest.
“It was a fireman’s funeral,” Raymond said. “We lost one of our own.”
Brissette’s friends and family remember him as a happy-go-lucky person who saw good in others and was always smiling. He became an instant friend to anyone meeting him for the first time, including firefighters.
While Brissette also enjoyed music and spending time with family, being a firefighter was perhaps his greatest joy.
“I think it gave David purpose in life,” said his brother Claude Brissette of Presque Isle. “He never worked an occupation but he was proud of the bonds that existed between him and the firemen.”
