Lt. Mark Assencoa gets a final salute from his group.
By Ron Ayotte, Contributing Writer
MARLBOROUGH – Lieutenant Mark Assencoa retired from the Marlborough Fire Department after a 32-year career on April 21. A get-together was held at Fire Headquarters for those wanting to wish Mark well in his retirement.
Assencoa was appointed to the fire department on February 27, 1989. After attending the fire academy, he was assigned to Group 4 and worked at both Headquarters and Station 3. He was promoted to Lieutenant on August 3, 2017, and assigned to Group 1, Engine 3, Station 3.
Assencoa served as the Department’s Public Fire Education Officer, teaching fire and life safety in Marlborough schools. In addition to his duties with the fire department, he was also involved in youth sports, coaching baseball and basketball while refereeing high school and college basketball games.
Assencoa’s father, Idgidio “Izzy” Assencoa, meanwhile, is a retired Framingham firefighter.
Assencoa also has his own business, Mark’s Deck Service. Repairing and refinishing decks, he resides in Marlborough with his wife, Robin.
A tradition of the Marlborough Fire Department is to give their retirees a ride home on their final tour of duty. Assencoa received that honor in Engine 3, where he also had his final radio call and signoff.
Assencoa remains beloved by current and former Marlborough firefighters. Celebrating his retirement, those colleagues recalled a long list of stories, including one from a particular fire at the Cider Hill Condominiums off Boston Post Road.
Carrying a set of tools used for forcible entry, Assencoa helped colleagues fight their way into a burning unit.
As he pried the door open, however, he was met face-to-face with a large Rottweiler. The facepiece of Assencoa’s self-contained breathing apparatus was the only thing between him and the startled dog.
After beating back the flames, a fellow Marlborough firefighter mentioned the encounter with the dog to a newspaper reporter on the scene.
“We were just two scared beings,” Acencoa said when asked for comment himself.
Ron Ayotte is a former Deputy Fire Chief from the Marlborough Fire Department. He retired in 2015.
