By Paul Sand
The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington)
Copyright 2007 The News Tribune
All Rights Reserved
TACOMA, Wash. — Jim May studied to be a computer programmer, but ended up doing work of a much different sort in one of Tacoma’s roughest neighborhoods.
When he began his career at the Hilltop’s Fire Station 4 in 1982, the Depression-era building was known to his colleagues as “The Knife and Gun Club.” But that bit of gallows humor didn’t faze May.
“It was absolute craziness,” said May, 53, recalling scores of overdoses, shootings and a handful of wild taverns on what later became Martin Luther King Jr. Way. “I loved doing the job.”
After 25 years with the department - more than 22 of them at Station 4 - May finished his final shift as fire captain at 7 a.m. Wednesday. He’s leaving an indelible mark on his fellow firefighters and community members, who recalled his humor, his ability to teach young firefighters and his eagerness to make a difference in a troubled neighborhood.
“He chose to be here and that really says something about his character,” said Jeanie Peterson of the Hilltop Action Coalition, adding that May was a fixture at National Night Out events and block parties in the neighborhood.
May and his wife, Kim, who retired from the department in 2005, plan to sell their Puyallup home, travel and live out of a fifth-wheel trailer. The couple met and worked together at - where else? - Station 4 before they married in 1996.
On Tuesday afternoon, Jim May’s blue-clad colleagues cycled through the station to say goodbye and share one last laugh with the good-natured Tacoma native.
Eighteen-year station veteran Bob Wells, a firefighter medic, called May a “jokester” and remembered his creation of an off-duty department “triathlon” that involved three beer-friendly sports - bowling, golf and horseshoes - rather than physically grueling ones such as running, biking and swimming.
When gangs and crime were prevalent on the Hilltop, Wells said he and May “went to more shootings than I can count.” A wall in the station’s garage still bears a bullet mark, a reminder of the neighborhood’s violent past.
Lt. Stacy Waterworth, who worked with May for a time at Station 4, said he was a mentor as she rose through the department’s ranks.
Over the years, May took ownership in the neighborhood, playing basketball outside the station with children, offering them Otter Pops or fixing their bicycles, Kim May said.
Jim May remarked Tuesday how the Hilltop had changed since his first call in 1982: less crime, fewer calls and more home-owners than renters, meaning mowed lawns and painted homes - a rare sight 25 years ago.
“It’s been a pretty cool place to see the changes,” a gray-haired May said, surrounded by his fellow firefighters.
“Like the change in your hair color?” somebody cracked.
“Yeah,” he said, laughing.