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Edgar S. Freeman, III
Past President 1965-1966
It is an honor and privilege for the Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company to submit the name of our Life Member and President Emeritus, Edgar S. Freeman, III in nomination for the Anne Arundel County Volunteer Firefighters Association Hall of Fame for 2001. Edgar has committed 58-years to the fire service at the company, county, and state levels. He currently maintains his dedication as an active life member and as a Maryland State Firemen’s Association Committee Chair. It is our strong belief that Edgar’s leadership and exemplary record make him most deserving of this tribute in recognition of his lifetime of service.
Edgar became a member of the Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company in 1943 and was appointed a Lieutenant of the junior group later that year. In 1946, he entered active military duty in the U.S. Navy and was honorably discharged in 1951, resuming active duty with the fire company. From that time till the present, Edgar has been continuously involved both on the operational as well as the administrative side of the company. He has served as an Engineman (driver), Lieutenant, and Captain. He has served as the Secretary, Board Member and Board Chair, Vice President, and President (seven times). The later position earned him the title of “President Emeritus” in 1990.
On the business side of the organization, Edgar has been instrumental in making our hall one of the premier catering facilities in Anne Arundel County. Edgar served as Hall Chairman from the 1960s through the 1980s and developed a stable customer base and streamlined rental/ management and procedures for this facility. In the 1980s, he spearheaded an effort to purchase land adjacent to the fire company property. A few years later, he assisted with the sale of a parcel of our property to provide the company with future financial security. Edgar is still sought after by the company leadership as a trusted and experienced advisor on many projects.
In 1964, Edgar became the first person to hold the newly created position of Second Vice President to the Anne Arundel County Volunteer Firemen’s Association. He rose through the Chairs to become President in 1965, having skipped First Vice President. He served as Secretary from 1971-73 and as a Trustee from 1981-1992. During his tenure as President, he was involved in the county’s development of a central alarm headquarters facility and training center. This was to become a national model of combination fire services. That year, along with then County Executive Joe Alton, Fire Administrator Harry W. Klasmeier, the MSFA President, and then Governor J. Millard Tawes, Edgar cut the ribbon at the Millersville facilities making this modernization a reality. Since his presidency in this organization, Edgar has also served as secretary and trustee and is still active as an association delegate and member of the Past Presidents.
In 1966, Edgar began his active involvement with the Maryland State Firemen’s Association, serving along with Floyd Heimer and Charles Burton as a convention recorder at the 3rd Street school in Ocean City. Since then, he has been the convention recorder as well as the chair of the Public Address Systems Committee. In that capacity, he travels throughout the state and arrives early and stays late for each executive committee meeting. In that capacity, he facilitates both PA and recording capabilities for each of these critical gatherings. He has also served as the chair of the Transportation Committee and as a member of the Statistical Committee.
In 1972, he served as the Chair of the MSFA Executive Committee having served as an appointee of President Richard Carter. Edgar was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1984.
A retired truck-driver and former businessman, Edgar is employed part-time in hardware sales. He and his wife of 45-years Adgie have four children and ten grandchildren. They reside in Severna Park and also at their second home in Ocean City.
During the 1998 Maryland State Firemen’s Association Convention, while at a local restaurant, Edgar noticed a subject at a nearby table in severe respiratory distress. Edgar quickly assessed the situation and determined that the individual had a complete airway obstruction. Instinctively and without hesitation, Edgar promptly provided abdominal thrusts (Heimlich Maneuver) to the patient, ultimately dislodging an obstruction that would have certainly resulted in death of the patient. Ironically, the patient was Chief Steven Halford, Fire Administrator of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. Chief Halford has since acknowledged this life saving effort by both personally and throughout the Anne Arundel County Government, by awarding Edgar the Anne Arundel County Fire Department’s Exemplary Performance Award.
In the year 2000, Edgar has remained active in the Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company attending meetings, working his scheduled bingos, the annual carnival, and other fundraising events. In December of 2000, he was elected to the Board of Directors for the year of 2001 and was subsequently elected Board Chairman by its members for 2001.
Edgar’s experiences and knowledge of the Anne Arundel County Fire Service and the Maryland State Fireman’s Association have made him a valuable source of information for the present President of the Anne Arundel County Volunteer Firefighters Association our own John F. Long, Jr.
Therefore, the officers and members of the Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company deem Edgar S. Freeman, III to be most deserving of being inducted in to the Anne Arundel County Volunteer Firefighters Association Hall of Fame, and thus submit his name in consideration to receive this prestigious honor.
Respectfully submitted,
William C. Smith
At the 1999 Earleigh Heights annual Installation Banquet, Edgar was named for the second time as the Firefighter of the Year. This award was historically reserved for active firefighters but certainly well deserved by Edgar. In presenting the award, the company acknowledged Edgar’s quick thinking and application of his training in saving the life of Chief Steven Halford. This company also presented Edgar with a Special Service Award for his 55+ years of active service.
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