Murphy, who joined the Dunkirk Fire Department in 1947, died April 20. The council held a moment of silence in his honor Tuesday.

Edwards said he wanted to put a few words on the record about Murphy, as he had no public funeral services.

“I have to say, he was probably active for most of those 70-some years. If you were in the Fire Department, you knew Turk,” the chief said. “Turk was somebody who belonged to the Pioneer Hook and Ladder Fire Company. He was a founder of the Dunkirk Emergency Squad and the only captain for 55 years.

“Turk was also one of the first EMTs (emergency medical technicians) in the state,” Edwards continued. “I believe his number was 124, and my number’s like 11,604… He was one of the people who sat on the committee to build the training grounds. Each volunteer company had several members that sat on that committee, he was one of them.

OBSERVER Photo by M.J. Stafford The sign at the Dunkirk Volunteer Fireman’s Training Grounds honors James “Turk” Murphy.

“That actually turned into kind of his passion. Many people knew Turk because they would go by the training ground and see him riding on the lawn mower. He was the unofficial caretaker of the training grounds for many, many years.” In fact, the grounds were named after Murphy in 2004.

Edwards also cited Murphy’s decades of service with the Dunkirk Volunteer Firemen’s Association.

“I can tell you from experience that him and I would have some very good discussions from time to time,” he said, cracking a smile. “But at the end of the day, he came out to be somebody I looked up to and was a very good friend of mine all the way until his passing.”