05/04/2026
History Comes Alive - Captain Bernie Greene
Bernie Greene found his way to the Twin Beaches in 1960 after completing a stint in the U. S. Army. He heard about a firefighter opening at the Naval Research Lab Fire Department (NRLFD), Chesapeake Detachment. Bernie was hired by NRLFD as the fifth member of the department, working as a “swing man” between the two shifts. He moved his family to a comfortable home on Frederick Avenue in North Beach, a few doors up from Jimmy Buckmaster, then North Beach VFD’s fire chief. Bernie joined the NBVFD at Chief Buckmaster’s urging and was appointed lieutenant the night he was voted in. This fateful collection of decisions and interactions led to 37 years of dedicated service to the NRLFD and the NBVFD.
Bernie had an affinity for training and fire prevention. During his nearly four decades of service, he spent 15 years as training officer, investing thousands of hours of his personal time delivering training of all types to the NBVFD members. Bernie was especially remembered for his knowledge of water supply operations. Members who served with Bernie fondly remember his drills and his world class knowledge of drafting and pumping. With Bernie serving at the NRLFD, the members of North Beach were frequently invited to the base for drills, hose testing, and pump testing.
Bernie’s other passion was fire prevention. He made it a point to get into the area schools as often as possible and never missed an opportunity to preach the importance of fire prevention. This passion led to North Beach winning the local and state fire prevention award in their division in 1983.
On the fire suppression side, Bernie was on the scene of many of the notable fires in the area, responding either on a North Beach piece, or the Navy Research Lab engine. Three of the most notable North Beach calls for Bernie were the tragic 1961 house fire in North Beach Park that claimed the lives of nine members of the Bowden family, the 1977 Chesapeake Beach Dance Hall Pavilion fire, where he served as the water supply officer, and one bitter windy winter night where a house caught fire in Chesapeake Beach that quickly spread to two other homes.
His base experience included a unique call from the Tilghman Island facility across the bay. One night, Bernie answered the phone at the base fire station. On the other end, the caretaker on the Navy’s facility at the southern tip of Tilghman Island was on the line. The caretaker reported that the bunkhouse was on fire. Bernie asked if the Tilghman’s Island VFD was called as it would take him a couple of hours to get over there. The caretaker said the local fire department had been called, but there wouldn’t be much left of the bunkhouse for the fire department to take care of when they arrived. That was the only fire of any consequence Bernie could remember occurring at the base’s two facilities in his 30 years there.
Bernie’s favorite North Beach truck was Engine 103, a 1959 American Fire Apparatus pumper built on a Ford chassis. The truck sported a front mount pump and a rearing horse ornament on its hood. His favorite base piece was a 1956 International pumper.
Once Bernie retired from NRLFD, he made his way to Foley, Alabama, where he now resides. Still going strong at 88 years young, Bernie is our second oldest living member. We salute Bernie for his service and thank him for all he did to train the members and protect the community.
This post is the latest in a series recognizing the significant contribution of outstanding people who have made our centennial of service possible.
