Mark "Flash" Friedman

Mark "Flash" Friedman, former fire chief, friend to all

as written by the Mountain Ear, Nederland, Colorado.

When Mark "Flash" Friedman walked into a room, the atmosphere changed. There was a crackle of energy and two long arms stretched out wide, ready to hug anyone in his path.

Flash was a bigger than life person, physically, vocally, and emotionally. He had a huge heart that, while it was beating, encompassed everyone and everything he knew, especially his wife Mary Ann, his dogs, and the Nederland Volunteer Fire Department and all that went with it.

Last Wednesday night, March 7, at 11 pm, Flash left us, succumbing to a longtime illness.

The sky over Barker Reservoir should have been filled with a dazzling display of fireworks, Loud booms should have echoed down Boulder Canyon, announcing the loss of a Nederland legend. Fire engines should have wailed.

He would have loved that.

Flash was born on August 5, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York, to Ruth and Irving Levittown, where he developed the accent he never quite lost. He came to Colorado in 1971, living on Walnut Street in Boulder and working for Jim's Conoco at the bottom of the canyon.

After working with the New York Fire Department, Flash brought with him knowledge of how to fight fires and how to produce a fireworks display. He was the price of pyrotechnics.

In 1971, he brought his expertise to Nederland where he joined the volunteer fire department. Former fire chief Ray Willis remembers that in 1972 Flash convinced the town board to allow him to put on the first Fourth of July firworks show, an event that became the pride of the fire department, attracting thousands of visitors.

There are many stories as to how Flash became Flash instead of Mark. Willis says, "When the fire department was down near the reservoir, Flash lived in the log cabin next to the Presbyterian Church. Whenever there was a call, he would head out the door and would run down to the staion, arriving before anyone else who drove there."

His father Irving says he was actually named Flash when he was a teenager. He and friends had been out riding in a car when the driver lost control and ran into a house. Mark ran home so fast he was called Flash from that moment on.

Larry Stern, who was with the Boulder Fire Department and the Boulder County Sheriff's Department remembers coming up to teach a class for NVFD chief Paul Emerling and met Flash. "He was a big guy with a big mouth from New York" The two men took to each other, becoming friends.

When Flash became chief of the department, he asked Stern to train firefighters.

"Since then, we fought fires and drank beer together. He was a dictator. Everyone knew he was boss, but he was actually a softy and was good to everyone."

While Flash volunteered for the fire department, he made a living working for the state highway department, thw town of Nederland, Caribou Ranch and finally, helped to create Century 21 Peak Performance Group with his wife Mary Ann, whom he married on Thanksgiving Day in 1988.

Flash knew heavy equipment and became invaluable to the fire department as "Dozer Boss," in charge of digging the lines that set up protective perimeters in wildfires.

During the Black Tiger Fire, Flash took over the protection of the back f Sugar Loaf Mountain, setting up a fireline to stop the progress of the blaze that destroyed 44 homes and threated to jump the crest and head to Gold Hill. He drove that bulldozer day and night. Once fire adrenaline hit Flash, there was no stopping him.

"He was a character," says Stern, "So we got along well. He moved the fire department into the 20th century."

When Udo Sille joined the fire department in 1991, Flash was the chief. Sille went on to become chief in 1995, the year Flash retired and became the first Nederland firefighter to be eligible for a pension plan, after 20 years.

"Flash helped me a lot," says Sille. "He encouraged me and made me realize  I could do stuff I didn't think I could. He taught me how to do the fireworks. He would get so excited, the adrenaline rush, the preparation. He was gung ho, no matter how many hours it took. His enthusiasm would transfer to everybody else. He was a legend in his own time."

High Country Fire Department chief Roger Durham says he and Flash always had a great working relationship. Whenever the fireworks would end, Durham would get on the radio and say "Great job again, Flash." The two chiefs offered mutual aid to each other and joined forces against the fires that were too big for one department.

"He was so full of energy, down to earth. He didn't believe in beating around the bush and was a one-of-a-kind guy."

When current NFPD chief Rick Dirr signed on with the department in 1990, Steve Watkins was the chief. Flash was re-elected later. Dirr remember attending his first structure fire with Flash standing behind him, telling him to do what he had learned at the fire academy.

Dirr says Flash was always funny, goofy and fun to be around. His humor would take the edge from the otherwise seriousness of the business.

"He was like annoying big brother. You didn't like everything he did, but he was always there for you and set the standard you always measure yourself against. Whenever I get toned out, I still ask myself if Flash would have gotten out of the house faster than this."

"He taught us the meaning of compassion and the essentials of emergency services. There was never a question of his commitment to serving others. That's what he did."

On Flash's 40th birthday, the fire department held a training excercise on securing a patient on a backboard, or "packaging." They suggested Flash be the patient, and once they strapped him onto they backboard, they transported him in an ambulance, up the street to what was then the Assay Office, and propped him up in a corner.

He laughed and remained propped for some time.

Flash's bachelor party brought more business to the Assay Office in a few hours than owner B.J. Ball had ever seen.

Before Flash left the Fire Department, he initiated the process that would become the fire department tax ditrict, which led ultimatly to the Nederland Fire Protection District, a new fire station and equipment that he was proud to have been part of.

And always, Flash traveled through town, offering conversation, hugs, jokes, and an indomitable spirit that will be treasured in memory by all who knew him.

Flash is survived by his father Irving, his wife Mary Ann, his sister Susie Ingber, seven nephews, mother and father-in-law, numerous sister and brothers-in-law and the "kids," Dozer, Sadie, Annie, Mandy and Brandi.

And an entire town of adoring fans!