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Community offers final farewell to J. Edward 'Hutch' Hutchinson, Greensburg's longtime fire chief | TribLIVE.com
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Community offers final farewell to J. Edward 'Hutch' Hutchinson, Greensburg's longtime fire chief

Stephen Huba
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Jack Fordyce | Tribune-Review
An honor guard salutes a photograph displayed during the memorial for Chief John Hutchinson on Sunday, April 22, 2018 at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg.
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Jack Fordyce | Tribune-Review
Greensburg Fire Chief Thomas Bell gives his remarks during a memorial for late Chief J. Edward 'Hutch' Hutchinson on Sunday, April 22, 2018, at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg.
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Jack Fordyce | Tribune-Review
Greensburg mayor Robert Bell gives his remarks during a memorial for late Chief J. Edward 'Hutch' Hutchinson on Sunday, April 22, 2018, at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg.
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Jack Fordyce | Tribune-Review
Former PA State Fire Commissioner Ed Mann gives his remarks during a memorial for late Chief J. Edward 'Hutch' Hutchinson on Sunday, April 22, 2018, at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg.
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Jack Fordyce | Tribune-Review
A vintage fire truck is displayed during a memorial for late Chief J. Edward 'Hutch' Hutchinson on Sunday, April 22, 2018 at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg.
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Jack Fordyce | Tribune-Review
The fireman's prayer is read during the ringing of the bell ceremony at the memorial service for late Chief J. Edward 'Hutch' Hutchinson on Sunday, April 22, 2018 at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg.
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Jack Fordyce | Tribune-Review
The crowd leaves the memorial service for late Chief J. Edward 'Hutch' Hutchinson on Sunday, April 22, 2018 at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg.

Part Good Samaritan, part John Wayne, J. Edward Hutchinson was memorialized Sunday as a man who was behind "all that is good" in Greensburg.

"There are very few, if any, communities that can say they had someone like Hutch as the driving force within their community. Greensburg is one of the very blessed and fortunate ones," said Mayor Robert Bell.

Members of the Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department, Hutchinson's family and the general public gathered at the Palace Theatre to pay tribute to the state's longest-serving fire chief and one of the longest-tenured chiefs in the country.

Chief Hutchinson Memorial

The memorial service for late Chief J. Edward "Hutch" Hutchinson on Sunday, April 22, 2018 at the Palace Theatre in Greensburg.


Hutchinson, who joined Greensburg Hose Company No. 3 in 1939 at the age of 18 and saw the department and the city through innumerable changes and innovations, died April 15. He was 96.

"Although he was a great fire chief, to say he was just that would be a tremendous disservice to his memory," former Gov. Ed Rendell wrote in a letter. "Nothing ever scared Hutch; nothing deterred him from accomplishing his mission."

Speakers at the memorial celebration marveled at Hutchinson's energy, his can-do spirit, sense of service, public spiritedness and ability to get things done.

A Pennsylvania Senate citation noted that he was involved with establishing a scuba diving team in the 1950s and a bloodhound search team in the 1960s, both of which are still active. In the 1970s, he collaborated with Mayor Robert Bell, the current mayor's father, to bring 911 dispatch service to Westmoreland County.

Among his other innovations was bringing the STAT MedEvac helicopter ambulance service to Greensburg and helping to establish mutual aid agreements for ambulance services.

"He was a first-responder par excellence," said Monsignor Raymond Riffle of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Greensburg.

Dr. Rod Booker, former Hempfield Area and WCCC music director, recalled collaborating with Hutchinson on projects to bring good used band uniforms, school supplies, playground equipment and monetary donations to poor school districts in Dallas County, Ala.

Thomas Bell, who took over as Greensburg fire chief when Hutchinson retired in late 2016, noted that Hutchinson's impact was felt far beyond the Greensburg city limits or even the borders of Westmoreland County.

Hose Company No. 3 members were deployed for everything from Hurricane Hugo relief efforts in South Carolina in 1989 to the recovery of a woman who had drowned in Crawford County in 1996, Bell said.

Bell read a contemporaneous letter from the woman's sister expressing gratitude to Hutchinson and the 15 men he assembled for two three-hour trips to the flooded French Creek near Meadville. The woman's car and body eventually were recovered because of their efforts.

"I had so much faith in Ed and the rest of them, as it was easy to see right away that you are a very special group of people," the woman wrote.

Bell said he first learned about Hutchinson's approach to firefighting in 1981 when he joined the fire service at age 14. "My first class with Hutch is where I learned my first bad word," he said.

Bell said Hutchinson had a take-no-prisoners philosophy about fighting fires.

"He said it's like getting into a fight: You take the son of a (expletive) and you hit him right between the eyes and you break his freakin' nose," he said. "You take every resource you have and hit it as hard as you can. He did that with every fire."

Robert Bell said he met Hutchinson when he was a young boy, not long after his father had been elected mayor. Hutchinson would come over to visit in a white station wagon with a single red light on top.

The visits became regular, with Hutchinson bringing other collaborators with him to speak with the mayor.

"He always had somebody with him to reinforce his plan," Bell said. "Every time Hutch would show up with his crew and get together with my dad in the kitchen, you knew something good and unique was going to happen in Greensburg."

Sunday's memorial service began with a processional by the Southwest PA Firefighters' Pipes & Drums and concluded with the band playing "Amazing Grace."

Flanking the stage on opposite sides was a recent portrait of Hutchinson and a photograph of him as a Marine Corps gunnery sergeant serving in the Pacific Theater in World War II.

"Car 100, we will take it from here," Thomas Bell said. "We will not let you down."

Stephen Huba is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-1280, shuba@tribweb.com or via Twitter @shuba_trib.