By: Leif Bromme and Kyla Wetmore
Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department Chief Duane Pitts wore a navy uniform shirt bearing the words “We Volunteer Because Your Life Depends on It” as he reflected on his many years with the department.
His lengthy career with the Collegedale fire department started when he was an accounting freshman at Southern Adventist University in 1966. He had gotten an ice cream cone from the Campus Kitchen with an older friend when, all of a sudden, a siren blared and his friend took off running. Pitts was perplexed until his friend explained that the siren was a call to a fire meeting and encouraged him to join.
Pitts sat in on the meeting and before the night was over, he made the decision to join the team. At the time, the roughly 15-person department was made up of mostly Southern students, who voted in officers—including chief, assistant chief and training officer—at the beginning of each school year.
In a time before pagers, radios or cell phones, student volunteers ran to the trucks whenever an oscillating siren placed atop Lynn Wood Hall alerted them to emergencies in the community.
In 1970, Pitts was drafted to the military to serve in the Vietnam War, but returned home early in 1972 and took on one of the three paid jobs at the fire department when the station expanded its services to Highway 58. He has worked at Tri-Community ever since.
Now, the department is staffed by over 15 paid employees and approximately 142 volunteers, hosting a vibrant community that many describe as a big family, according to Pitts.
Senior chemistry student Morgan Baldwin began volunteering with Tri-Community in late September after taking an Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) class through Southern that was taught by leaders at the fire department. For Baldwin, volunteering is a valuable opportunity to get hands-on medical experience.
“[As a pre-med student], we can’t really have patient interactions or patient care, but the fire department is the complete opposite … one of the only things I’m allowed to do is patient care,” Baldwin said. “I really just wanted to do it so I can connect with people and really have a conversation with someone before I’ve become a physician.”
Baldwin added that another reason he serves with the Tri-Community is because the Collegedale area is his home, and he wants to serve it. “It’s great to interact with people and really serve them and be a beacon of hope if you can in dire situations,” said Baldwin.
According to Pitts, there has been a gradual downward shift in the percentage of Southern students in the volunteer force over the years.
“As things went along, then it kind of became half students and half community people,” Pitts said. “Now the percentage of their students is pretty slim.”
City Commissioner Tim Johnson is one of the community members who decided to dedicate his time to the fire department. In an interview, he recalled the day he began volunteering at the station.
“It was January second of 1982,” he said. “I volunteered as an EMT back then. … I had it in my blood.”
Though Johnson has never been involved with the firefighting side of things, he emphasized that the station has room for a wide variety of talents and interests. Firefighters handle fire-related emergencies and provide emergency assistance, drivers transport gear and first responders, station employees ensure that the operation runs smoothly and EMTs like Johnson specialize in emergency medical aid. The EMTs and firefighters at Station 1, like those across the nation, are often the first to arrive at the scene of an emergency. Consequently, they see firsthand the reality of situations most see on the news: shootings, house fires, tragic wrecks and medical crises. It only takes one 911 call to remind a first responder of the impact of these events.
“We [responded to an emergency] over at the music building,” Johnson said. “We were there within a couple of minutes, and luckily a nurse anesthetist and two nurses were working there. They started [CPR] immediately, and we came with our life pad and put shock pads on him. We shocked him three times and got him back. He was talking in the ambulance, [and] I ended up knowing him. We went to high school together. I asked the name and recognized him from years ago.”
Even without personal connections, exposure to such tense situations can take a toll on someone’s psyche. The fire department has a counselor on staff to address mental health needs and encourages volunteers and firefighters to be open about their emotions.
Though any job can bring stress, Johnson continued to emphasize how much the opportunity has impacted his life for good.
“I met my wife here,” he said with a smile. “We weren’t interested in each other at that point, but we got back together later on. We’ve now been married for 33 years. It all started here.”
His eyes scanned the day room, recliners lining the walls with the Tri-Community Fire Department logo stitched into their backs. The room seemed to remind him of both the volunteer community and his family. Johnson’s eldest daughter served in the department before becoming a nurse at Erlanger Health. His younger daughter, Ashley Finley, also a full-time nurse, currently serves alongside her family as a medical lieutenant. His wife, Cindy, also assists the department in a medical capacity. For those who serve as volunteers, the role carries notable benefits. For those pursuing medical or paramedical careers, EMT experience is incredibly valuable. According to Johnson, Tri-Community also helps volunteers by paying for their EMT and EMR certifications courses in exchange for service. Pitts mentioned that some volunteers can even utilize complimentary apartments. Beyond the physical benefit is the fulfillment that comes with community and the ability to help others.
“I love it. It’s part of me. The department is like family to me,” said Finley. “Some are like my brothers and sisters; others are like another set of parents.”
Since joining as a student at Collegedale Academy, Finley has been passionate about volunteering with Tri-Community. Now, she enjoys responding to calls along with her husband when she isn’t working at the hospital.
“It’s a really important thing for me to take care of those that are in my community and help serve the community,” Finley said. “We are volunteers, what we call a dying breed, so to me, it’s still a really important part of my life to volunteer and give up some of my own personal time.”
Finley explained that she describes volunteers as a dying breed because people can spend their free time doing whatever they want. She has seen that it can be hard to find staffing at times.
Pitts shared a similar sentiment when reflecting on the differences in volunteers when he began almost 60 years ago and volunteers today. When he was a student, he remembered that freshmen were not allowed to have a car on campus, and most could not afford one even if they had been permitted to drive. According to Pitts, there were also no bus or rental services on campus.
“When you’re kind of left in a little bowl up there, you find things to do in that bowl,” Pitts said, gesturing toward Southern’s campus. “The students have a whole lot more things to be able to do and to a lot of them, those other things are more exciting.” Though some students may not view fire protection as exciting, it is a service that requires willing volunteers and ongoing support. From the years when its alarm sat atop Lynnwood Hall to today, when its sleek new engines sit within Fire Station 1, Tri-Community Volunteer Fire Department has always been built on community and the desire to help. Finley’s words reflect the mindset of many in the crew: “Knowing that I was able to at least give someone support during their worst time—that’s why I do it.”
