Ohio Firefighter Hangs Up Helmet After 47 Years of Duty

DUNKIRK - A desire to help, and an "element of excitement" attracted Jim Steele to volunteer with the local fire department. Forty-seven years later, he says it's time to do something different.

Steele, 76, joined the Dunkirk Volunteer Fire Department in 1965, and served as chief of the village's station 4 since 2002.

The department is now called the Northern Hardin County Fire District.

In his nearly five decades of service, Steele saw technology significantly improve firefighters' communication and safety.

When he joined the department, Dunkirk used a siren to alert firefighters when they were needed for a call, he said.

"If you didn't live in town, you didn't go to the fire, because you didn't hear the siren," Steele said.

Now the dispatch system is based in Kenton, and the department has a cellphone application allowing firefighters to report if they will drive to a fire or to the station. It calms worries about whether additional help is on the way, he said.

Each firefighter is also issued a portable radio, which makes battling fires much safer, Steele said.

"Long ago, you were lucky if anybody had a radio when they went into the building. If you had a problem, you couldn't talk to anybody until you got somebody outside," he said.

The department also uses a thermal camera, allowing firefighters to see high temperatures and contain a fire quicker, Steele said.

"We have a new type of gear and equipment come down the line we didn't see 47 years ago," he said.

Responding to a fire causes an adrenaline rush that "just bumps right up on you," Steele said, but it's important to use caution.

Firefighters need to "understand what the problem is and what danger that puts our firefighters in," Steele said.

Problems can always arise at a fire. The goal is to stay calm and rely on training, Steele said.

"Even a little building, you can get inside and get lost," he said. "You wouldn't think you could. There's no reference points once you get in" a smoke-filled structure.

The department typically responds to structure and field fires, plus auto accidents, entrapment, and fire prevention meetings. A typical year includes about 40 runs, he said.

Steele graduated from Roundhead High School, and then-Bluffton College in 1958. He taught for 36 years, including 20 years at Findlay High School, before retiring in 1994.

His science background of physics and chemistry served him well as a firefighter, and he was a fire instructor for 25 years.

One notable call was a fire at T-Ted's Ceramics in May 2008. The two-story Dunkirk building was demolished following a large and drawn-out blaze.

The fire was reported at 4:30 a.m., and firefighters used about 160,000 gallons of water fighting the blaze.

"I think I was on duty 14 hours before we got home on that deal. It was a long one," he said.

Steele also recalled the 1978 blizzard, when he stayed in the station for a few days.

"We don't have sleeping quarters. Make the best of it," he joked.

The firefighters' role was to help other first responders. It was tricky when snowdrifts were so high trucks could not leave the village, he said.

"Our role here was basically to respond to any emergency that occurred, whatever it may be. It's things like this: We get a call in that somebody is low on insulin. Can we get insulin?" he said.

Serving on a volunteer department means accepting responsibility for calls at any time, including holidays and weekends, he said.

"If the alarm comes in, you're gonna go," Steele said.

His son joined the department as a volunteer, and now serves as chief of Van Wert Fire Department.

Most employers of the Northern Hardin County Fire District volunteers understand the commitment to safety. It's still tough, Steele said, when a good afternoon means six firefighters are readily available to battle a blaze.

"And maybe that means when you leave the station, it might be you and the driver, because the other guys may go (directly) to the scene," he said.

Many volunteer firefighters leave their shift at work, respond to a fire that night, and return to work in the morning, he said.

Steele said he was grateful village residents passed an additional levy approving $635,000 for new vehicles, as the current trucks are about 25 years old.

Much of the 60-square-mile area is rural, and many of the district's 2,500 residents are on fixed incomes, he said.

"There's not a lot of people supplying all this money," Steele said.

Steele's last day was Nov. 26, and Ron Dysert replaced him this week. Steele said he remains unsure about his future prospects.

"Door's always open. Remember now, I'm 76 years old, and don't want to do too much," he said with a laugh.

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