ROSEWOOD HEIGHTS, Ill. -- David Richards is considered a true "smoke eater" and received recognition recently for his five decades of volunteer service.
Richards is a volunteer firefighter with the Rosewood Heights Fire Protection District. During the district's annual banquet Saturday night, he was honored for his 50 years of service.
"Fighting fires is a family affair," the 71-year-old said.
Richards followed in the footsteps of his father, Guy Richards. Although he didn't start his volunteer fire-fighting career until July 1962, he started hanging out in the fire station 11 years prior to that.
"We lived across the street -- I still do -- and would come to the firehouse whenever they would get a call," he said.
Richards often would be seen directing traffic in front of the station after the engine had been called out to a fire. He also helped firefighters clean the trucks and equipment once they returned to the station.
Richards said his best memories are of all the firefighters he has worked with through the years.
"I've known everyone in the department except for two," he said.
The district celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2010.
Richards is considered a "smoke eater" because he was fighting fires before air packs, or SCBA, self-contained breathing apparatus, became part of the uniform for tackling a blaze. Smoke eaters had no clean air source, often entered a fire to search for people and inhaled the heavy, black smoke.
Air packs are not the only changes that Richards has seen through the years. He said other safety measures, such as how firefighters attack a blaze, also have changed.
"It's no longer just about going in, finding the red stuff and putting water on it," he said.
He said firefighters now use a technique called positive ventilation, which helps snuff a fire out.
"It's a much safer tactic than simply running into a burning structure," he said.
The fires that bring back the worst memories for Richards were Vaughn Hill Church of Christ in 1983 and the crash of an F/A-18 fighter jet in June 1996 off Airline Drive.
"I've seen every kind of building burn, but there is something eerie about seeing a church go up in flames," he said.
He said although the jet crashed in a residential area and the pilot was killed, there were no other injuries.
Richards remembers the days when the district kept its trucks in a barn along Airline Drive prior to volunteers building the engine bay that still stands today.
"The fire station was built by volunteers from this department," he said. "We wouldn't have what we have without the hard work of all the volunteers."
Besides his 50 years, Richards said his family has a collective service to the fire district of 98 years, including his father's 13 years and a combined 35 years from his two sons, Scott and Andrew. Scott is a captain, and Andrew serves as the district's safety chief.
Richards has served many roles within the district, including captain, assistant chief and district commander for 22 years. Now, he's back to being a regular firefighter.
"I don't go into fires anymore, but do anything else that the chief asks me to do," he said.
He said he may take a truck to a scene or dispatch on the radio.
Richards retired from the Sears service department years ago, and because he lives across the street from the Fire Station, he's reminded daily of the duties as a firefighter.
"I used to run across the street whenever there was a call out, but I stopped when someone threw a beer can at me one night as I was walking home," he said.
Fire Chief Tim Bunt said he appreciates Richards' dedication to the district and the community. He said there are not many volunteers who serve as many years as Richards has and would continue to do so with that many responsibilities.
"Most people would simply retire, but not Dave," Bunt said. "He has been a part of this fire district since before he was even a firefighter."
Copyright 2012 - The Telegraph, Alton, Ill.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
