“This is a special-day shirt,” Connelly said, standing between two fire trucks at Station 9, at Second Avenue South and Lea Street.
Connelly, 75, spent the last 53 years as a firefighter, an occupation he has never considered to be work.
“I try to tell everybody that my worst day is probably better than most people’s best day at work because I’ve never considered that I’ve worked a day in my life,” he added, his voice cracking.
But what many don’t realize is his worst days could be deemed hellish compared with most.
On Dec. 11, 1991, Connelly, a captain at the time, and three other firefighters were injured when a burning wall of a warehouse at Fourth Avenue South and Chestnut Street collapsed, leaving them trapped under the flaming debris.
Connelly sustained the worst injuries that day: two broken legs, internal injuries and burns to his face.
“The doors opened to Vanderbilt and we saw men covered in soot, and they’re all crying,” said Connie Connelly, the youngest of Bobby’s three children.
Those tears were a testament to the respect other firefighters had for Bobby — a respect that continued to grow throughout his tenure.
Perhaps his most haunting experience came on the night of Sept. 26, 2003, when a fire broke out at NHC Healthcare Center, a nursing home where his 96-year-old mother lived.
Connelly’s mother had perished by the time he reached her room, and 16 others were killed in the blaze.
“Bobby became an advocate to get sprinklers put in nursing homes after that,” said Fire Department spokeswoman Kim Lawson. “Tennessee then became the first state to make sprinklers in nursing homes mandatory.”
'Everybody loves Bobby'
Connelly’s purposeful stride belies his age, and his positive spirit has filled the station.“Everybody loves Bobby, and Bobby loves everybody,” said Johnny Dendy, a retired fire captain who worked with Connelly for eight years.
Connelly donned a blackened helmet, singed from fiery battles. A Tennessee Titans logo on the side is faded and covered in soot.
“Believe me, that helmet he has on is a true reflection of what he has been through,” Dendy said.
According to Lawson, the Titans made Connelly, who has rarely, if ever, missed a home game, an honorary 12th man last season.
Throngs of peers, past and present, posed for pictures and swapped stories of their time with their fearless leader.
In between those visits, Connelly spent his last day battling a house fire in North Nashville.
“This is something I love.”
Connelly plans to spend his retirement traveling with his wife, Freda.
“I suspect he’ll be back,” his daughter Connie added. “Bugging them, I’m sure.”
Connelly rode home after his final shift with his fellow firefighters on Engine 5. At several intersections along Nolensville Road, fire trucks were parked with their lights on as men and women stood alongside saluting their chief.
“It’s time,” Connelly said, wiping away tears. “I’d rather be here with them, but it’s time. I’ll miss the people, the men and women of the fire department, most.”
Richel Albright
The Tennessean