“ I WANTED TO HELP MY COMMUNITY . I KNEW I HAD THE SKILLS AND MINDSET
TO HELP .”
Sal Joy Meridian Fire Chief
someone to talk to .” Some of the hardest calls are kids and patients they ’ ve known for years .
“ When you can ’ t save a kid ’ s life , it kind of puts a damper on everything ,” Christina said . “ Sometimes when you ’ re doing CPR by yourself , it kills you . I ’ ve gone through that personally .”
She said that ’ s when “ you make sure you have someone to turn around and talk to ” which isn ’ t too hard because “ the fire service is a support system .”
That support system , she says , makes up a huge extended fire family .
“ We protect these kids , just like they are our own ,” Christina said . “ We have a huge support system , not just within the department — our extended family ’ s huge and the people above them .”
Aside from prevention , mitigating crisis and confronting conflagrations , the department and training manager Christina has another goal in mind : training and drawing in the younger generation who will become the future volunteers .
“ The only way to keep this going is to get the younger generation ,” Christina said .
And as it shows with the Joys , it doesn ’ t matter if the volunteer is a male or female . Meridian ’ s fire volunteer roster has consistently had three women appear on it and Christina said they ’ re working on moving up to at least six female firefighters .
“ Whether they ’ re male or female , we need them in there ,” Christina said . “ We need to get more volunteers .”
That begins with the Junior Fire Department , which Alexis , the youngest , will join at the age of 16 .
For now , Christina said the juniors have learned how to manipulate fires , make them move where they want them to go and how to handle it the right way .
“ The more we get to volunteer , the better off we are ,” she said .
Those interested in a volunteer firefighting position can fill out an application with the department .
For more information about volunteering with the fire department , call the station at 580- 439-4155 or send the department a message through the Meridian Vol Fire Dept - Stephens County Facebook page . DM
12 DUNCAN MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022