Firefighter Fever

Published 6:53 pm Saturday, March 4, 2006

There is a saying among volunteer firefighters that once the bug bites you, you’re hooked.

For Ken Bartlett, a 30-year-old volunteer with the Vinemont-Providence Fire Department, the fever hit nine years ago when he decided to take the advice of friends and attend a meeting of the Bethsadia Volunteer Fire Department.

Within a couple of weeks Ken was answering his first tone-out and making his first run to help contain a grass fire.

There was something about the smell of the smoke, the crackle of the fire, the heat of the flames and the sense of accomplishment and purpose that comes with being a part of a dedicated group of men and women who put themselves in harms way, not for pay, but rather for the sheer satisfaction of coming to the aid of a neighbor, that told Ken this is where he needed to be.

“It’s hard to explain. It just felt right. For me, there is a tremendous sense of satisfaction in knowing that in some small way I can help someone in need whether it’s a grass fire, a residential fire or a bad accident,” Ken said. “We all like to think that if it were us and we were in a bad situation there would be someone there to help us, and that’s what volunteer firefighters, EMTs, paramedics and rapid responders are all about.”

A native of Cullman County, Ken grew up in the Jones Chapel community and graduated from West Point High School.

After high school, Ken went to work at Wal-Mart Distribution Center. He never had any thoughts about being involved as a volunteer firefighter until some friends of his who were members of the Bethsadia Fire Department talked him into attending one of their meetings in 1997.

“That was the first fire department I was involved in and I was with them for three years,” Ken said. “My wife Carrie and I moved to the Vinemont area and that’s when I started looking into switching to the Vinemont-Providence Fire Department. I’ve been with them for the past six years now.”

Not long after Ken became involved with the Bethsadia Fire Department, Carrie said her sister-in-law experienced a chimney fire at their home.

“They never realized what it would be like to experience a fire. You never think about your home catching fire, or your child falling into the pond, or a loved one suffering a heart attack,” Carrie said. “The truth is, you never know when you’re going to need a volunteer firefighter, a rapid responder, an EMT or paramedic, but it’s comforting to know they are there and we’re blessed to have them.”

Mr. Fix It

After Wal-Mart Distribution, Ken went to work at NAFECO in Decatur for a couple of years before landing his “dream job” with Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus in Morgan City in eastern Morgan County.

In addition to his knack for fighting fires, Ken discovered he had an aptitude for repairing and refurbishing fire trucks, a skill that comes in handy around the fire station.

“We work on, refurbish and sale used fire trucks. In fact, we’re the largest used fire truck sales company in the U.S.,” said Ken, who is a certified emergency vehicle technician. “We purchase retired fire trucks, completely refurbish them and then sell them.”

Ken enjoys his job very much. It also helps that company officials are supportive of local volunteer fire departments and firefighters.

Among his co-workers at Brindlee Mountain are two other Vinemont-Providence firefighters, Greg Moore, a department captain; and Tony Graves, a district chief in Vinemont.

“I’ve been at work before and I’ve had to leave to answer a fire call,” Ken said. “The company is very supportive of firefighters. They allow us to leave if we need to respond to a call, which is great.”

And calls can come at any hour of the day or night.

When that tone sounds, Ken and the other estimated 570 volunteer firefighters, rapid responders and paramedics representing the 26 volunteer departments in Cullman County, drop everything, if possible, and respond where needed.

Because there is no way to predict when a fire or other emergency may occur, schedules often change, ball games are missed, dinner is left uneaten, they are deprived of sleep, and family time, sometimes, has to be put on hold.

For that reason, Ken said it’s essential that every volunteer have the support of their family.

“You have to make time for family. It’s a delicate balancing act. I’m blessed with a loving, caring wife, Carrie. We’ll celebrate our 10th anniversary in July. Then there’s my little boy Jaxson, 6,” Ken said. “When it comes to my involvement with the fire department Carrie is fairly well understanding and so is Jaxson. If we receive a call they understand that I have to go. Sometimes that means leaving in the middle of dinner or having to delay plans we had to do something together, but they handle it really well.”

A family endeavor

Together since high school, Carrie, who does clerical work for Restore Therapy at the Cullman Health Care Center, says their lives are probably typical of any family involved with a volunteer fire department. And while hectic at times, she wouldn’t want to change it because she knows how much Ken enjoys it.

“I guess a lot of guys get the hunting fever or fishing fever. Ken, who also enjoys fishing, just happened to get the firefighter fever,” Carrie said.

Carrie says she tries to get as involved in department activities as much as possible.

“If there is something going on like a fundraising event, I try to help out any way I can. There for a while Ken was involved in a firefighters competition team and I was active in that a few years ago. It’s really difficult for both of us to be involved with a child at home and both of us with jobs,” Carrie said.

Still, Carrie admits it would be nice to make some family plans and not have to worry about an emergency interrupting those plans.

“The kids were out of school a couple of Fridays ago and Ken took Jaxson with him to the fire department. They serviced fire trucks, changed the oil and so forth all day long and Jaxson just loved it. He thinks it’s the greatest thing in the world to get to spend time with Daddy,” Carrie said.

The time the family does spend together is quality time, Carrie said.

“Ken is a devoted husband and a wonderful father. He’s a great provider and hard-worker and he has never been neglectful. I love him with all my heart and I’m proud that he’s a volunteer firefighter,” Carrie said. “Can it get irritating at times when we have to put something on hold because he has to respond to a fire or a wreck somewhere? Yes. But I always ask myself, what if it was someone in my family whose home was on fire, or one of my family members, my mother or grandmother, involved in a wreck Ken was responding to. When you think about it in that way you realize just how important it is.”

LIving with risks

When two Lawrence County volunteer firefighters were recently killed during a fire in Moulton, Carrie said she couldn’t watch the news coverage. Whenever the report would come on, she said she would turn the channel.

“I didn’t like watching the news about that. I get nervous for Ken, especially if I know he is going on a call with a group of rookies. He loves it, because he enjoys being in a leadership role, but I’m thinking ‘Honey, I know you like doing that, but please go in with people around you who are experienced and know what they are doing,'” Carrie said.

Ken says he is very aware that injuries on the job occur, but you have to push those thoughts to the back of your mind.

“I’ve been very fortunate and firefighters in this county as a whole have been very fortunate over the years. What happened the other day in Moulton was a tragedy and our thoughts and prayers go out to their families and our fellow firefighters,” Ken said. “We’re all aware that something like that could happen any time we answer a call, but for the most part you have to put your trust in your training, one another and your belief that the Good Lord will watch over you. Tragedies occur. That’s just part it.”

As for any close calls during the past nine years, Ken said he went down with heat exhaustion once while working a residential fire in the summer of 2002.

“It was a structure fire. It was an older house and the owner had done some additions. They had covered the original roof with another roof and I was working the fire in the attic, trying to cut it out and it was hot. I mean it was really hot,” Ken said. “It was hot that day anyway and I didn’t know at the time that I had over-exerted myself. It really didn’t hit me until we were already heading back out, but suddenly it felt like someone had dumped a load of bricks on top of me. I was out of it.”

In the heat of the battle, Ken said adrenaline kicks in and your total focus is on the job at hand. It’s only afterward when you start to wind down that the exertion hits you.

“In those situations you learn to rely on your training and your turnout gear,” Ken said.

Carrie said she often hears about the fires Ken fights. He’s less talkative, she said, when it comes to the traffic accidents he responds to, especially if they involve children.

“He doesn’t share those experiences with me. He keeps them pretty much to himself and I can understand that,” Carrie said. “I try to be open to him. I care about what he does and when he talks about his job or a fire call he went on I try to show that I’m interested even when he gets a little too technical and talks way over my head.”

In return, Carrie said Ken will also ask her how her days has gone.

“He’s very caring and does ask me about my job and I appreciate that,” Carrie said. “Recently I went through a bout with migraine headaches and he was very loving and caring. He’s wonderful and I’d support him no matter what he was involved in. It just happens he’s a volunteer firefighter.”

Asked if it would be fine with her if Jaxson were to be interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter when he comes of age, Carrie said of course it would.

“He can do whatever he wants as long as Daddy is there with them,” Carrie said.