70-Year-Old North Carolina Firefighter Still One Of The Best In Her Department
"If I'm on the island, then I'm at the fires," Westbrook said. "I do everything a firefighter does."
At 4 feet, 11 inches tall and 104 pounds, even back surgery couldn't keep the 70-year-old Surf City resident from donning the heavy fire equipment and responding to the next rescue call.
"(The doctor) said I had worked too hard in my life and my back was worn out," Westbrook said about her back surgery in September. "I just told him, 'If you were 69, wouldn't you be tired, too?'"
A month after the surgery, Westbrook was back in the field as the oldest volunteer firefighter in North Topsail Beach.
Aside from the occasional back pains, Westbrook says she is a healthy and vibrant individual who thoroughly enjoys her line of work.
"She has brought us a lot of attitude," Deputy Fire Chief George Moore said. "She'll do anything you ask of her, from sweeping the base floor to pulling the fire hose."
It is for this type of dedication and bravery that North Topsail Beach Fire Department recently commemorated her with the 2004 Volunteer Firefighter of the Year Award.
Westbrook, who also received the award in 1992, said she was slightly taken aback by the recognition.
"It's wonderful," she said. "I'm surprised I even got it this year."
Westbrook has been an integral part of North Topsail Beach's fire department since its inception in 1985, having helped charter the station with several other local residents.
At that time, Sneads Ferry responded to the town's fires.
"We went around begging for money to start the fire station," Westbrook said. "Now, there are 21 of us, and we help Surf City and Sneads Ferry."
Since then, Westbrook and her husband, Billy, 72, have given endless hours to the station, responding to structure fires and participating in training practices. Her husband only recently stopped due to disability.
Billy said he's proud of his wife and knows not to worry about her when she's out chasing fires.
"It doesn't do any good to worry about her," he said. "She's going to do what she wants to do."
The Westbrooks moved to North Topsail Beach in 1979 when her husband retired from the Army at Fort Bragg. She then got a job as a medical clerk in the surgical ward at Camp Lejeune's Naval Hospital.
When she retired in 1994, Westbrook said, she decided to contribute her time to volunteering.
"I love my work," she said. "It makes me feel like I'm needed and that I'm helping somebody."
Westbrook stopped going into the buildings a couple of years ago, but she continues to fight fires from the sidelines, whether it's pulling the hose, driving the station's Ford F-350 maintenance truck, or combating fires spreading outside.
"That's her truck," Moore said. "She just loves what she does; you can see it in her face and in her eyes."