By Chloé Morrison
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee)
Copyright 2007 Chattanooga Publishing Company
WALKER, Tenn. — Walker County Fire Chief Randy Camp doesn’t know if he will ever get over seeing his first death in a fire.
“I hadn’t been a firefighter for more than a year when I was met with my first fire death,” he said. "(The house) didn’t have a smoke alarm, and they went back in (to retrieve belongings). It really put a desire in me that I didn’t want to see that again.”
The first time he saw a baby who died in a house fire hit him again. So fire prevention and education became his passion.
Under the leadership of Chief Camp, the Walker County Fire and Rescue’s entire fire education team recently won a statewide award for Educator of the Year.
“The Educator of the Year award (usually) goes to an individual. ... I thought I would just nominate the whole group,” Chief Camp said.
Volunteer firefighter Sandra Hendrix went to Atlanta last week to accept the group’s award.
The chief said he chose Mrs. Hendrix because of her dedication to fire safety education. Mrs. Hendrix takes a week of vacation every year to participate in fire prevention activities and presentations.
“I am very passionate about (fire safety) because I have three children,” Mrs. Hendrix said.
Education typically dies down in the winter months somewhat, mainly because officials are busier fighting fires, she said. Still, Walker County fire officials provide many services to area residents, she said.
Safe Sitter classes cost $30 and teach skills for child-care providers, such as what to do if a child is choking, how to call for help in the event of an emergency, how to diaper and feed children and how to entertain children while keeping them safe. The fee covers the cost of the one-day program, student manual and Safe Sitter kit and backpack.
Free CPR training is offered, and department personnel also will inspect and install child car seats and smoke detectors. They offer free blood pressure screening and an early intervention program for juvenile fire-setters.
“We don’t focus only on fire,” Mr. Camp said. "(We also provide education on) cooking safety, seat belt safety (and) bike safety.”
The fire prevention team has visited every elementary school in Walker County. They use a combination of clowns, puppets and skits to convey the importance of fire education and safety to children. Mr. Camp said it is important to reach children at a young age.
“If we can hit them very young ... if (they) hear it again and again, when the event occurs, they will automatically do it,” he said.
Mr. Camp and Mrs. Hendrix said they have children come up to them often after a fire education presentation who tell them the firefighters’ story had an effect on them.
Walker County Fire Marshal Waymond Westbrook said he is thrilled his team won the award. He echoed Mr. Camp’s idea that prevention is the most important thing when it comes to fires.
“We are one of the few businesses, for lack of a better term, that try to put ourselves out of business,” Mr. Westbrook said. “We try to put ourselves out of business because if we can do that, then we have prevented someone from losing their life or their home.”
Walker County Commissioner Bebe Heiskell said she is not surprised that Walker County Fire and Rescue was recognized, and she said she is proud of the accomplishment.
“They work hard every year to improve what they do,” she said.