By Pamela Ferris-Olson
Dayton Daily News (Ohio)
Copyright 2007 Dayton Newspapers, Inc.
WASHINGTON TWP., Ohio — Would you volunteer to regularly be awakened in the wee hours of the morning or have your meals interrupted by phone calls?
Patrick Luckett, 31, and Ken Luzius, 45, both of Washington Twp., did.
“I never really thought about doing anything else,” said Luckett, a National City Bank branch manager.
Luckett, who began his volunteer firefighter training in 2001 and then worked with the city of Kettering, now assists in Washington Twp.
Before he retired, Luckett’s father worked for the Oakwood Public Safety Department. Luckett chose a different career path and obtained an MBA from the University of Dayton.
But something, maybe in his blood, led him to devote some of his time to being a firefighter.
“I guess I thought I might be wasting my degrees and hard work if I dropped all of that to go through the paramedic classes and other training that would be involved,” Luckett said.
According to Scott Henry, volunteer coordinator for the Washington Twp. Fire Department, the vast majority of fire department personnel on duty in the evenings, weekends and holidays are volunteers like Luckett.
“They not only provide a very important service, but are also able to save the communities from taxes and expenses normally associated with a full-time fire department,” Henry said.
Volunteers, in fact, are paid, but the remuneration is not sufficient for most people to make it their only source of income.
“I figured I could have the best of both worlds - the financial stability of UPS and the excitement and camaraderie of the fire service,” said Luzius, a delivery driver for United Parcel Service. He also works as an assistant fire instructor for Sinclair Community College.
Luzius started as a volunteer firefighter in 1983 in West Carrollton. He’s remained a volunteer firefighter for almost 24 years because he views the people he works with as his extended family.
“Being on call is just a small obstacle to overcome. For me, it’s just a way of life,” Luzius said.
Luzius, a lieutenant assigned to Station 41 on West Whipp Road, shares his work load at Station 41 with one of his children who also volunteers with the WTFD.
For many firefighters, finding a balance between home, their day jobs and the fire department is a challenge.
“I will admit that home often loses, as much as I try to avoid it,” Luckett said.
“Getting over the fact that you’re going into a burning building, that’s never really bothered me. I’m actually more fearful that on a scene I would do something or not do something that would get someone else hurt. We rely on each other so much, I would never want anyone I work with to think that I couldn’t do the job.”
Henry said the only qualification anyone needs to become a volunteer firefighter is a willingness to help other people. Any resident of Centerville or Washington Twp. is eligible to apply.
Applicants are given a written and physical test and a complete physical prior to their final interview.
The department provides all the necessary training in conjunction with Sinclair Community College, and periodically classes are taught at the township’s training facility on Dayton-Lebanon Pike.
Applications are available at the Washington Twp. Government Center, 8200 McEwen Road, or by contacting Henry at (937) 433-3083.
“Firefighting, whether full time, part time or volunteer, is an extremely strenuous, stressful, yet rewarding job. Firefighters can be called upon at all hours of the day, in all weather, for any reason.
“In a word it is hard, but ask any firefighter in any firehouse, here or around the country and I doubt any of them would ever dream of doing anything else with their lives,” Henry said.