He said that even varies on the water rescue team — which he ’ s been a part of for about eight years . He said every day he ’ s on the water is a good one .
“ I feel at home and love being on the water ,” Ogden said . “ At the same time , I ’ m able to be out in the sunshine on beautiful days and provide a service to citizens that may need it .”
A LOVE OF THE WATER The Ohio River was a big part of Osborne ’ s childhood . Growing up , he said he explored it with friends , getting to know where the sandbars were , learning how to navigate without electronics and finding good fishing spots .
He said that serves him well when he ’ s on the crew any given day . When a call comes in and a boater ’ s not sure where they are , Osborne said he ’ s used to taking vague descriptions of areas from callers and pinpointing where help is needed .
“ It ’ s one of the disciplines of our job that I enjoy doing ,” he said . “ It ’ s good to be a part of it . You see all your friends out there and they respect you from a professional standpoint . The river changes every day and it ’ s a demon . Even the most experienced people may get caught up one day . But I enjoy being out on the water and having a change of pace on the job .”
For Ogden , the love of the water is much the same . He said growing up , he always had a boat and got to enjoy spending days out fishing or cruising .
“ I ’ ve lived on the Ohio River my entire life and I ’ ve always been a boat owner ,” Ogden said . “ When we had the opportunity to have a fire boat to provide a service to the citizens of Jeff , it was something I was definitely interested in . When I ’ m on duty for the day , I ’ m not only in charge of engine 45 , but also fireboat 40 . We ’ re always ready to respond to any kind of emergency .”
Jeffersonville Fire Department / 150 years 21