Fearless in the Flames
Local firefighters ’ jobs are never done as they continue to protect their neighbors from danger
By Steve Cornelius
While most Pulaski Countians go about their daily lives and enjoy a nice peaceful rest at night , many times a team of dedicated firefighters brave hazardous conditions amidst choking smoke and blistering heat . These local heroes battle the flames with unwavering determination , often rescuing trapped residents , and preventing a potential catastrophe . Their bravery and quick thinking have saved countless lives , and have turned moments of terror into a testament of courage and resilience .
In Pulaski County , we are blessed to have a great core of dedicated firefighters who protect our homes , our personal possessions , and our loved ones .
With nearly 47 firemen employed at the Somerset City Fire Department and over 370 volunteer firemen around the county , the local area is well protected from those destructive flames and other life-threatening emergencies .
Pulaski County Public Safety Director Stacy Halcomb stated that the reason the county has so many dedicated volunteer firefighters was because of their commitment to protecting their friends , family , and neighbors in their own nearby communities .
“ Most of the people are born and raised in these neighborhoods , and they want to join their fire department because they want to give back to their community ,” Halcomb said . “ They ’ re proud of their community , they want to help it , and they want to see it thrive . So in turn , they join the fire department because they don ’ t want to sit there and watch the trucks go up and down the road and say , ‘ Well maybe I should go see if I could help them ?’
“ These guys [ volunteer firemen ] get no pay , but they feel like it ’ s just their loyalty to their community ,” he added . “ It takes a special person to do what they do . They respond to car wrecks and everything else , and see some pretty tragic stuff . It ’ s not for everybody .”
Somerset Fire Chief Bengie Howard stated that while many joined the fire department to protect their community , firemen have to be exceptionally fit to adapt to the physical demands of fighting fires .
“ Physical fitness of a firefighter is highly important ,” Howard said . “ We just started a physical fitness program where we do evaluations on physical fitness of our firemen every single year . They get a physical every year , and check for cancers every single year . During the summertime , we try to limit to operations in the heat to no more than 30 minutes at a time .”
With dangers around ever corner , firefighters face life-threatening perils on almost every call . However , Howard explained there are dangers to firefighters even when they are not on an active fire scene .
“ Believe it or not , most of the things that are killing firefighters [ are related to ] cancer ,” Howard cautioned . “ There are so many carcinogenics out there that if firefighters don ’ t clean their gear and if they don ’ t wear their respiratory protection , they could be at risk . Wearing respiratory protection during a fire is probably the most important part , and properly cleaning their gear afterwards after they get back is also very important .”
Halcomb emphasized the importance of fire safety through training and using caution while on an active fire scene .
“ We try to do training as often as we can ,” Halcomb stated . “ There ’ s many different dangers with things around the fire scene . When you ’ re coming into a house fire you look for the the power lines that come to the house . We don ’ t park the trucks under that and you always want to be aware because at night time you can ’ t see many dangers .
“ Also , there ’ s always a danger of explosions ,” Halcomb said . “ We ’ ve done propane and natural gas training classes . When we roll onto a fire scene , we size up the situation and we do
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