Perry Hall Fire Department Captain Retires After 34 Years

The last fire Capt. Fred Trentzsch would have to worry about was a grill, and whether or not one of his fellow firefighters would overcook the burgers.

Trentzsch retired Wednesday after 34 years of fighting fires. He ended his career in Perry Hall where he served as captain since 1992.

“Everyone says you’ll know when it’s time. And it’s my time,” Trentzsch said.  “I love coming to work. I’m going to miss that a lot. I love the guys. I love the calls. It’s just time to let the new guys come in and take over.

“But I won’t miss getting up in the middle of the night for alarm bells,” he continued.

In his office, a packed black duffle bag sat on his bed, neatly tucked with a faded green blanket.

“I’m feeling happy, but I’m also feeling sad. This has been a big part of my life for 34 years,” Trentszch said.

Several firefighters, unable to stay for the party, dropped by his office for one final handshake. His wife Debbie—wearing a black dress with pink-petal flowers—arrived in time for the party, just after 11 o’clock. The only thing Trentszch has done longer than fight fires, is be married to his wife, who he met when he was 16 years old.

“All the things that make him a wonderful captain, make him a wonderful husband,” Debbie said.  “He’s been in the fire department for as long as we’ve been married. It’s going to be interesting having him home at night and the weekends.”

Trentzsch said he will miss his crew most of all—those in uniform who risked their lives alongside one another for decades.

“It’s hard to explain the brotherhood and sisterhood to people who aren’t firefighters,” Trentzsch said. “We live, eat, sleep and drink together.”

But that doesn’t mean he isn’t looking forward to the next phase of his life.

“I’m not a sit-around guy,” he said.

Debbie’s “Honey-do List” includes fixing up the house, and the homes of his three children.

“He’ll be plenty busy,” Debbie said, with a smirk. “I might even have him babysit. He doesn’t know about that one yet.”

In five years, when she retires from her position as a dental hygienist, she says they’ll travel the world.

“It doesn’t even have to be the world. I just want to travel,” she said.

Trentszch started his career at the Golden Ring Fire Department, where he was quickly promoted to paramedic.

“I wasn’t happy being a paramedic,” he said.

So he demoted himself back to firefighter where he continued to serve in Dundalk. He would venture back to Golden Ring where he went on to obtain the rank of lieutenant. He studied, and soon earned the rank of captain. He was assigned to Westview, and again to Golden Ring before finding a permanent home in Perry Hall.  

“Change is good,” he said. “A lot of guys get hung up on staying at one station.” 

Since 1992, Trentszach has seen Perry Hall grow and literally expand off of a map he drew nearly two decades ago. 

He noted the expansion of Perry Hall’s residential communties will pose new challenges for young firefighters.

“Up toward Perry Hall Farms, up Forge, up Honeygo—it’s just a multitude of houses that have gone up. And it’s unreal,” he said. “They built houses on top of each other.”

He said even in his final week on the job he was still spotting fire hazards, vacant homes, in Perry Hall’s communities, all the while keeping a sharp eye on where to find hydrants.

As the party started at Station 55, Councilman David Marks dropped by to deliver a County Council Citation to the captain. Other firefighters soon arrived, including retired captain George Balladarsch.

“It’s a great job,” Balladarsch said. “But it’s a great job to retire from too.”

He hinted at the inherent risk all firefighters take when running into a burning building.

“That’s the worst,” Trentzsch said. “When you’re on the third floor and the smoke is so thick that you get turned around.”

But a burning home wasn’t the most troublesome, or scariest call of Trentzsch’s career.

“I was on a major brush fire when I was at Golden Ring, back by Quad Avenue,” he began. “The weeds were like 6 feet tall and the wind kicked up. It was acres and acres [of fire]. It was coming toward us. It was very scary. We didn’t think we were going to get out.

“It was a ways away, but all of a sudden the wind changed,” he continued. “And it was coming toward us and we didn’t have enough stuff there to fight it.”

It was close call, the likes of which Trentszch won’t have to endure in the next phase of his life.

Errands aside, Trentszch said he plans to focus on his second career as a real estate agent and perhaps work on his golf swing.

“It’s kind of weird to think about what I’m going to do for the next few years,” Trentszch said.

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