New Hampshire firefighter keeps charity baseball streak alive

By Angelina Berube
Eagle Tribune

SALEM, NH — Salem firefighter Colton Houle has been on a winning streak for more than a decade, and he has no plans to stop it anytime soon.

The 10-year veteran of the Salem Fire Department will trade in his fire helmet for a baseball helmet to raise funds and play shortstop in this year’s Special Olympics Heroes Cup.

Houle is the longest-serving firefighter in these charity games. This will be his 12th appearance in a New Hampshire charity baseball game since his first appearance in 2013.

Houle will represent Team Bravest, along with other firefighters, in a friendly competition with officers from Team Finest in the annual New Hampshire First Responder Game, which will raise money to benefit Special Olympics of New Hampshire initiatives.

The game is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. Aug. 3 at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium, 1 Line Drive, Manchester. Firefighters and police officers from across New Hampshire will be in attendance.

Dartmouth Children’s Hospital hosted baseball games in New Hampshire for several years before the Special Olympics took over in 2023.

Whatever the reason, Houle said it’s a privilege to be a part of the games and to have done it for so long. It’s a commitment with practices, practice matches and community events. But it’s something he enjoyed doing with a community mindset.

In 2022, he was honored by the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Salem as Firefighter of the Year for his community involvement and decade of fundraising for the Olympic Children’s Hospital.

“It’s another opportunity for me to put on my cleats and give back because baseball has always been in my life,” Houle said.

Houle played in high school and college. He coached at Alvirne High School in Hudson, where he graduated, for more than a decade and concluded his first season as varsity coach.

Firefighting runs in his blood. His father, Lt. Richard Houle, served with Derry Fire for 37 years. Houle said he was basically raised in the firehouse, and his father is a big reason he got into the field.

It was also no surprise that the place he had spent most of his life played a role in his involvement in charity games, he said. After college, Houle wanted to keep playing. Members of the Derry Fire Department who played in the CHAD baseball game encouraged Houle to do the same, drawing on his passion and history in the sport.

He represented Derry Fire in his first two charity matches.

“They knew I was going to join the fire department and kept trying to get me to play,” Houle said. “One thing led to another, and I never stopped playing baseball.”

“And it was for a good cause, first for the hospital and now for Special Olympics,” Houle added. “It definitely means a lot to the kids and the adults involved.”

Houle’s cousin, Kaitlyn Hilbrunner, is a Special Olympics athlete, and the firefighter said he knows firsthand how much the games mean to the athletes they help. The game has taken on a special meaning for Houle, and he’ll be representing her on the field.

“You know you are part of something that will make a big difference for these organizations,” he added.

Houle raised at least $1,000 a year through fundraising for the game with donations from friends and family. The Salem Firefighters Relief Association supported him every year, matching the minimum.

While the real winner of this game is Special Olympics, and the hospital before it, Houle hopes his fire department can claim a much-needed victory.

In the previous 11 games, Fire had won only twice, despite some close games, he said. Team Fire had not won since 2015.

“We lost to the Police for years because they always managed to steal the extra point,” Houle said with a laugh. “We keep losing, so I have to keep playing.”

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