This week it was announced that a plaque with the name of former Cabin John Park Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief James Seavey Sr. will be added to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation memorial wall in Emmitsburg, Maryland. An honored first responder in the greater D.C. area for 42 years and a key member of state, regional, and national fire and rescue organizations, James Perrine Seavey, Sr., passed away September 4, 2018, after a courageous five-year battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Seavey’s death will be considered a line of duty death, with his battle with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma presumed to have been a result of contact with toxic substances during his 42 years of service as a first responder, per the Bethesda Patch.
Per his obituary, Seavey was born in D.C., but raised in Bethesda’s Westmoreland Hills. His calling began in 1976 as a 16-year-old Walt Whitman High School volunteer at the Glen Echo Fire Department. There he rose to the rank of Assistant Chief. He moved to the Cabin John Park Volunteer Fire Department in 1990 and took office as Fire/Rescue Chief in 1992, a post he held until retiring on Dec. 31, 2017.
Having declared from a young age a goal of becoming a career firefighter for the District of Columbia, he fulfilled his dream on May 27, 1986. As a member of Recruit Class No. 296, Jim graduated as class president and was appointed to No. 1 Truck Company (Chinatown). Soon after, he transferred to No. 16 Engine Company (Franklin Square), where he found his true passion while attaining the ranks of Pumper Driver, Wagon Driver, Sergeant, and Lieutenant, all in the very same firehouse. He later served as a Lieutenant with No. 17 Engine Company (Brookland).
In 2009, Jim was nationally recognized by Fire Chief Magazine as Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year. He also received the Leslie B. Thompson Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Maryland Fire Chiefs Association, the group’s highest honor, and was recognized locally by the Montgomery County Volunteer Fire Rescue Association as Firefighter of the Year for life-saving efforts.
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