By Clark Judge
(November 6, 2026) — When the Killingworth Ambulance Association held its annual banquet on November 1, 2026, Dan O’Sullivan was recognized as one of its top responders. In fact, he was its leading one, making 192 of the KAA’s 517 runs from October 2025 through September 2026.
But that’s not the story. This is: It’s the fifth time in the past six years that O’Sullivan led the field. The one year he missed was 2024-2025 … and only because he was sidelined for months by lingering knee problems. That might have slowed others, but O’Sullivan? Not a chance. He still answered more than a hundred calls and was the KAA’s third-leading responder.
“What number I am doesn’t matter to me,” said O’Sullivan, “but, yes, there is a pride that comes from helping that many people. But I’m retired, so the flexibility of my life lets me respond as much as I do. Trust me, there are no superhuman attributes to be inferred.” Others might disagree.
You see, his life is not as uncomplicated as he makes it appear. He’s president of the KAA’s board of directors. He’s also a trustee at St. Lawrence Church, where he chaired the church’s finance council. Plus, he’s an active volunteer at Parmelee Farm, involved in the annual tapping, making and selling of maple syrup … is chairman of the board of directors for Norwich Diocese’s Outreach to Haiti program … was treasurer for nearly a decade of the Killingworth Lions Club … and drives to Farmington every two weeks to donate blood, a routine that encompasses over five hours.
Yet somehow, some way, he soldiered through a series of recent physical setbacks to answer more than a thousand calls the past five years. “I’m flabbergasted,” said EMT Mary Robbenhaar-Fretz, one of the KAA’s leading responders, “especially when you have to answer calls in the middle of the night.”
Now you know why O’Sullivan and wife Jan were named Killingworth’s Citizens of the Year in 2023. “As I said, I’m retired,” said O’Sullivan, “and I’m involved in a lot of different things. But they’re flexible in terms of timing, so I can make this (the KAA) a priority. Sometimes I can’t respond, but other times I can.
“When we have to rely on ‘mutual aid,’ which means we have to rely on another town because we’re on a call, that’s fine. But when we can’t get a crew, that bothers me. I want to make sure the Killingworth Ambulance Association is respected in the area. So, I make this a priority and do as many as I can.”
He’s not alone. EMTs Chris Riggio (177) and James Fretz (144) weren’t far behind O’Sullivan in responses, and each has a story to tell. A retired CNA, Riggio wasn’t an EMT until joining the KAA in 2023. But she’s so active that she “responds when she’s not even on the schedule,” said Robbenhaar-Fretz. Then there’s Mary’s husband, James. Like his wife, he annually ranks among the leading responders. Yet he missed six weeks last year following hernia surgery.
“People have heard enough of me,” said O’Sullivan. “To focus on me when others are sacrificing as much with their circumstances doesn’t seem right.” The KAA must agree. All were among those honored at the KAA’s annual banquet … and they should have been. O’Sullivan answered 37% of last year’s calls, while Riggio was next at 35% and Fretz third at 28%.
Yet it is O’Sullivan’s resume that’s impossible to ignore. In 2021-2022, for instance, he answered a KAA-record 283 calls, or 48% of the annual total, breaking the previous mark of 207. Plus, he has the three highest annual responses in KAA history. Put all that together, and you have an obvious question: Where would the KAA be without him?
“Oh, I can’t … I can’t even think about it,” said Robbenhaar-Fretz, searching for a response before she found one. “We’d be sunk,” she said.
Photo by Clark Judge
