Firefighters honored by Rotary
By Frank Ruggiero

Last Friday’s Wake Up Watauga was a particularly special occasion, as the Boone Sunrise Rotary Club paid tribute to the county’s hometown heroes — firefighters.

Nick Friedman, president of Boone Sunrise Rotary, welcomed local dignitaries, members of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce and Rotarians to the second annual Special Firefighters Appreciation Breakfast.

Representatives from nine of the county’s 14 fire departments attended, including Floyd Hicks of Beaver Dam Volunteer Fire Department, Larry Carroll of Meat Camp, Allen Phillips of Zionville, Laramie Combs of Cove Creek, Ben Winebarger of Meat Camp, Doug Berry of Stewart Simmons, Jim Brooks of Beech Mountain, Terry Combs of Cove Creek, Reggie Hassler of Boone, Tracy McLean of Foscoe, Donald Miller of Zionville, George Wright of Foscoe, Kent Graham of Blowing Rock, Mike Hicks of Blowing Rock and Seth Norris of the Fire Marshal’s Office.

Friedman then introduced the morning’s keynote speaker, Boone Fire Chief Reggie Hassler. Friedman told how Hassler has served with the Boone Fire Department since 1975. The department, he continued, is comprised of career firefighters, along with plenty of volunteers.

Hassler told how this month is fire prevention month, and that it was only appropriate to discuss fire prevention and safety. The theme for this year’s campaign, he said, is “Use candles with care — when you go out, blow out.”

Hassler said there are 14 fire departments in Watauga County, with the vast majority of firefighters being volunteers. Two-thirds of Boone’s firefighters are volunteers, he said, before proceeding to dispell a common mistake in nomenclature.

Paid firefighters are referred to as career firefighters, as opposed to professional, because both career and volunteer firefighters are professional.

Out of the approximately 42,000 firefighters in North Carolina, 7,700 are volunteers, he said, adding that more and more combination stations are beginning to appear in the state.

There are 250 to 300 firefighters in Watauga County, and only 17 of them are career firefighters, both serving the Boone and Blowing Rock departments, Hassler said.

As Hassler continued to educate the audience on local firefighting statistics, he told how fire departments across the state seek to education people on related matters, including safety and how they can help.

He said that in Watauga County alone, departments responded this year to 953 calls, which translates into an average of about 5.4 times a day that a department is responding to a call. Even for fire trucks, traffic is an issue. It can also be dangerous for all emergency service personnel, ranging from firefighters to paramedics to law enforcement officers.

In the past three years, he said there have been numerous highway deaths from responders being hit by passing traffic. In January 2002, he explained, North Carolina passed the “move over” law, meaning that traffic must merge from the right lane or, if changing lanes is not possible, slown down when drivers see a parked or standing emergency vehicle with flashing lights addressing a situation on the side of the road.

Violation of this law resulted in a misdemeanor charge with a $25 fine, but as roadside deaths mounted, bereaved family members approached the state to seek a stiffer penalty, Hassler explained.

As a result, starting July 2006, there will be a $250 fine for failure to comply. Depending on inflicted damage to property or one’s person, the charges can be as high as a class one felony, Hassler said.

Regarding the safety of both emergency personnel and the citizenry, Hassler referenced a quote from the fire chief of New Orleans, who said, “Everybody goes home.”

“We want to go home, and we want you to go home,” Hassler said.

After Hassler concluded his speech, special recognition was given to two firefighters. On behalf of the Foscoe Fire Department, Chief Tracy McLean received a special achievement award for a split rating from the insurance commissioner, “saving citizens thousands of dollars,” according to information from Boone Sunrise Rotary.

Another special achievement was presented to Zionville Fire Chief Don Miller and Zionville firefighter Allen Phillips for acquiring grants to finance new fire trucks, saving taxpayers more than $300,000.

In conclusion, chamber presiden Dan Meyer praised the county’s fire departments, calling them community leaders. He thanked the firefighters and said, “The chamber salutes you for all that you do in your local communities.”