PRINCETON — Longtime firefighter and town resident Tom Kokernak finished a project last year that he had started a long time ago: "The History of the Sterling Fire Department from 1781 to 1981," a book he said he is “very proud to have written.”

“It tells the story of how firefighting went from being a responsibility held by every citizen, as a means of self-preservation, to an organized group of people who taught themselves how to be effective in the use of specialized equipment to protect the town from loss of life and property,” he said. “Most importantly, I think it helps put in proper perspective the amount of loss and sacrifice that had to be endured by past generations so that we can enjoy such an advanced level of protection today.”

Kokernak earned a Fire Science Technology degree from Mount Wachusett Community College. He started his career at the Sterling Fire Department in 1987, where he has remained since, and was promoted to full-time lieutenant in 2001.

A self-proclaimed history buff, he said he has been gathering information for the more than 100 page book for decades.

“In the mid-1990s, I started poking around to see what I could find out about the department’s history, and realized that there wasn’t much there,” Kokernak recalled. “That motivated me to go out and find it. Chief Bruce Baker had done some research, and the work he did served as a foundation that I was able to build upon.”

He has been gathering information since then and is still doing that.

“The process is ongoing,” Kokernak said. “I reached a point about two years ago where I felt it was time to share the information so others could enjoy it, too. The hunt for information is the fun part. Technology has been helpful with that to some extent, but the best information, in my opinion, comes from listening to people talk.”

He spent a lot of time interviewing former firefighters from "back in the day," seasoned veterans who had a lot to share, and current firefighters as well.

“I enjoy having conversations and listening to stories told by members who were around during earlier times,” Kokernak said. “I started this thinking it was going to be a story about fires and fire equipment from long ago. I discovered along the way that I was wrong. It’s a story about people. It’s a story about remembering the experiences and sacrifices made by past generations that continue to benefit us today. Remembering their story is the most fitting way to show appreciation for what they did for us.”

He said it was those conversations that helped to shape the book.

“I didn’t find much information when I first started looking, and that was because much of the information had become scattered,” he said. “I had to dig for over 20 years to find much of this information. I enjoy doing the detective work. Looking back, so much information was on the verge of being lost forever. I was fortunate to be able to talk to many people who today are no longer with us. The book wouldn’t be what it is without their willingness to share their memories and recollections with me.”

Kokernak moved around a bit when he was young but spent a lot of time at his grandparents’ house right in Holden center on Walnut Street, a period of time that would shape his future.

“It was there that I first experienced the fire department of a small town,” Kokernak said. “I use the word experience because that’s what it was. Back then, when there was a fire call, a siren mounted behind the Holden Town Hall was sounded. Upon hearing that siren, my grandfather and I would hurry up to his bedroom where he had an old dial radio that was tuned in to the Holden Fire Department radio channel. If we were quick enough, we could hear the radio operator announce the location of the call. After a quick listen, I would run back outside again to try and get a glimpse of the several firemen in the neighborhood getting in their cars and, with lights flashing, rushing to the fire station to answer the call. As a 6-year-old kid, this was the coolest thing I had ever seen. From that point there was never any question in my mind as to what I was going to do when I grew up.”

His family moved to Sterling in 1983, when he was in fifth grade, and a couple years after that a classmate mentioned that he hung around the fire station and that Kokernak could join as a trainee at 14 years old. Three weeks before his 14th birthday, he rode his bike down to see the chief, filled out a form, and was told to show up at the next meeting. The rest is history.

Kokernak was able to get his book published with the help of the Sterling Historical Society, where it is available for purchase for $35, and a copy is on the shelves at the Conant Public Library in Sterling, ready to check out.

“This was a difficult undertaking, but I am very pleased with the result,” he posted on Facebook in March. “Aside from preserving the information, it was my hope that by re-telling this story, we all can renew our appreciation of everyone who has experienced loss or done the difficult work required to protect the town from fire over the course Sterling’s history. It’s an incredible story that I think people will genuinely enjoy.”

Kokernak, the owner and operator of F&T Products, handmade fire helmet front shields, said the reaction from fellow firefighters and the local community and beyond “has been 100% positive.”

“I am a firefighter, not a writer, so I was fearful that might show through and that I might take a beating from the literary critics of the world who happen to read it,” Kokernak said. “Nothing like that has happened. Instead, friends to whom I have not spoken to over 10 years have reached out to me in congratulations. I have said from the beginning that one of the best things that could come out of this is that it might jog people into remembering that they might have information, photos, artifacts, etc. that they may want to share, and that has, in fact, been the case. Just today I had someone drop off a box of old newspaper clippings at the fire station.”

When asked what he hopes people will take away from his historical literary offering, he said he wants people to “enjoy the story was formed by hundreds of bits of information that had to be found, dusted off and stitched back together again.”

“Most importantly, however, I hope to renew an appreciation for the fact that we rest tonight free of any fear of fire only because of the work and sacrifices made by people past generations. After events such as the Partridge fire of 1815, the Iacovelli fire of 1933, the Woodring fire of 1946, the Sellars fire of 1966, and the Loya fire of 1972, and other such fires across the state, the firefighters of our past were driven to fight for and built the modern system of fire protection that all of us are protected by every time we walk into a building. We owe them a debt of gratitude, and their stories all deserve to be remembered.”