Albert Riippi remembers being a firefighter in DeKalb in 1949 before modern technology came into the picture and said that when a feather mattress was burning, he’d choke down smoke and crawl into the building without a mask.
Riippi, who turns 93 on Halloween, had a long career with the DeKalb Fire Department.
He was in from September 1949 to March 1952 when he left to pursue a dream with the National Football League. After injuries sidelined him, he returned to DeKalb in August 1959 and worked with the fire department until February 1986, retiring after seven years as fire chief.
“In my time, you didn’t have any [masks],” Riippi said while sitting at the kitchen table at Fire Station No. 1, on his third cup of coffee. “You got on your hands and knees and choked it down. We’ve made so much progress over the years, this modern technical science of chemistry and all that kind of stuff.”