Mars firefighter was ‘one-of-a-kind’ teacher, leader
Among firefighters in Mars, Adams Township, and the whole of Western Pennsylvania, Jim Ellis was a household name.
James “Jimmy” Ellis, Jr., who served as vice president of the Adams Area Fire District and as a captain with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire, devoted much of his life to protecting others and to training other firefighters to do the same.
“Pretty much his whole life wrapped around firefighting, training, and teaching,” said Jason Safreed, president of Adams Area Fire District. “But on the flip side, he was a great family man and had two kids. That was a huge part of his life, too. You couldn’t ask for a better person.”
Ellis died Wednesday at age 49 after a recent illness. He is survived by his wife, Cathy Ellis, and his sons, Brady Michael and Ryan James, along with his mother, Ruth Ellen Witkowski, and siblings, Carol Taylor and Cyndie Kopie.
Ellis grew up in Mars and started his career with the then-Mars Volunteer Fire Company, now the Adams Area Fire District, at 16 as a junior firefighter. His family had deep roots in the first responder community — his late father and grandfather were members, and his great uncle was a charter member of the Mars company. He served 25 years with the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, and worked for three years with the Wilkinsburg Fire Department before joining the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire.
A large amount of his time was dedicated to teaching and training other firefighters, Safreed said.
“He taught locally, and he taught with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire in their own fire academy, and he also traveled with groups that would teach all over the country,” he said. “He trained people from all over — from Detroit to Florida to just about anywhere. He was a huge asset for teaching and training.”
In Adams, Ellis was an integral part of the company. He contributed to the larger project of the building of the new Adams Area fire station on Route 228 — a building Safreed said is known among firefighters as “Jimmy’s fire house.”
“He was basically the brick and mortar of our fire company, mentally and figuratively,” Safreed said. “He designed our fire station in his head. There were four of us on the committee that worked on it, but it was Jim’s design from the beginning to the end.”
Many firefighters knew Jim as a reliable and gentle leader and mentor.
“Out of Butler County and Western Pennsylvania know that a lot of firefighters are well known, but he was at the top of that list,” Safreed said. “If you were coming into the fire department, or had been in it, you knew his name, whether you knew him personally or just heard people talking about him. You knew who Jim was.”
The legacy Ellis left behind is strong, said John Madl, Ellis' longtime friend.
“He was one of those types of people that you would say to a younger person, this is an example of how you should live your life, the kind of person you should be when you grow up,” Madl said. “He would talk to everybody, he treated everyone with respect, he was respected, from the most senior guy in the fire station to the lowest guy. He would just be a friend to everyone.”
Ellis brought the same love to firefighting as he did to his family and friends, Madl said.
“The legacy he will be remembered for as a firefighter would pale in comparison to the legacy he leaves behind as a friend, and a loving father and husband,” Madl said. “He was just an amazing guy. He would be there at a moment’s notice if you needed anything. He always had something good to say that fit the situation you were in. He was all around the type of person that a lot of people would hope they could be.”
“It’s well known that what Jim did for us can’t be replaced, can’t be duplicated,” Safreed said. “He was just a one-of-a-kind guy.”
Funeral visitation is planned for friends from 2 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at William Slater II Funeral Service in Scott Township. A funeral Mass is planned for 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Bernard Church (St. Michael the Archangel Parish) in Mt. Lebanon, with a burial at the Mars Cemetery around 12:30 p.m.
This story is shared with you as a digital media exclusive. To support our local, independent newsroom, please subscribe at butlereagle.com.
