Eugene Bartlett, left, president of the Butler County Fire Police Association, Harold Boyer, left, association vice president, and Mark Norton, center, a recently retired fire police officer with a plaque he received for 29 years of service.

A group of people who often are the first to arrive and last to leave the scenes of fires, traffic accidents and other emergencies recently lost one their most dedicated members to retirement.

Mark Norton, who became a fire police officer for the Adams Area Fire District in 1990, retired from active duty and was presented with a plaque recognizing his years of service at a July 13 picnic at the home of Eugene Bartlett, president of the Butler County Fire Police Association and a fire police officer for the Connoquenessing Volunteer Fire Company.

Norton, 64, who retired for health reasons and will continue serving as chaplain, said the presentation was a surprise.

“I didn’t know what was going on until I got there. It was a surprise to me all right,” Norton said.

He joined the fire district as a volunteer firefighter in 1980 and decided to help in a different way by becoming a fire police officer.

In addition to keeping people away from active emergencies to prevent interference with emergency responders, Norton worked as a security guard at Mars Area junior and senior high schools, including Friday night varsity football games.

This is an excerpt — pick up Friday’s Butler Eagle to read the full article and learn more about fire police.