COMMUNITY NEWS
MORE THAN A CALL: DOING WHAT NEEDED DONE aldwin BALDWIN BOROUGH NEWS
Anthony Prechtor Jr. never set out to spend nearly six decades serving his community.
After moving to Baldwin in the mid-1960s, Anthony heard the fire whistle echo through the neighborhood and wondered what it was all about. One Wednesday night, he stopped by a training drill simply to see what the volunteers were doing. By the end of the evening, someone handed him an application. He filled it out. That simple decision in 1967 became a lifetime of service that stretched far beyond the walls of the fire station.
For nearly fifty years, Anthony answered calls with Baldwin Fire Rescue. Along the way, he served in nearly every leadership role the department offered. To him, the titles never mattered much.
“ There was no favorite position,” he said.“ I just did what needed done.”
When the department needed someone to step up, Anthony did. He helped organize fundraising efforts, and became a charter member of Baldwin EMS, spending fifteen years as an EMT and paramedic.
Anthony joined the fire company in September 1967. Just one month later, his mother passed away. He expected a few members of the department to stop by the viewing.
Instead, nearly twenty firefighters arrived in uniform to pay their respects.
“ I didn’ t know most of them,” he recalled.“ But they came anyway.”
The fire company showed up for him when they barely knew him. Anthony spent the next several decades trying to do the same for other people.
Ask Anthony what stands out most from decades of service, and his answer comes quickly:
BALDWIN BOROUGH TRUNK-OR-TREAT
Join us on Saturday, October 17, for an afternoon of seasonal fun at our Trunkor-Treat. Enjoy creatively decorated trunks, plenty of candy, festive crafts, delicious food, pumpkins, and activities for the whole family. Don’ t miss our Giant Cauldron of Treats, overflowing with goodies for Trunk-or-Treaters of all ages. Come dressed in costume, bring your treat bag, and spend the afternoon celebrating the season with friends, neighbors, and the Baldwin community.
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“ Being able to help people.”
Whether it was searching homes during fires to make sure everyone made it out safely, responding to medical emergencies with Baldwin EMS, or using his paramedic training to assist injured workers on construction sites, the reward was always the same: helping someone on what might be the worst day of their life.
His training followed him to work, too. During one project in West Virginia, two workers were injured after electricity arced from nearby power lines into the material they were carrying. Anthony was one of the first people to reach them and stayed with them until the ambulances arrived.
Balancing all of that with work and family wasn’ t always easy. His wife, he jokes,“ put up with a lot.” Somehow, it worked. His three sons grew up playing sports and taking vacations while Anthony continued serving the community he loved. For him, it was never about recognition or titles. It was about showing up for neighbors, friends, and strangers when they needed someone most. That outlook also shapes the advice he gives people today.“ Watch what’ s going on around you,” he says. Decades in the fire service taught him that emergencies rarely happen without warning signs. Sometimes they’ re obvious, sometimes they’ re subtle, but the people who notice what’ s happening around them are often the ones best positioned to prevent a bad situation from becoming worse.
And while Anthony’ s own path led him to fire calls and decades in turnout gear, he is quick to point out that service rarely looks the same for everyone. Baldwin Fire Rescue depends on people with all kinds of skills, from fundraising and logistics to helping tell the department’ s story. Sometimes all it takes is showing up once to see where you fit.
Nearly sixty years later, Anthony still attends meetings and stays connected to the department.
For Anthony, that curiosity from 1967 turned into a lifetime of service, friendship, and a commitment to helping whenever help was needed.