For more than 30 years, firefighting has been Tim Price's life ...
By Gary Popp
Published in News on September 25, 2011 1:50 AM
Full Size
Tim Price
For more than three decades Tim Price has been a member of the Rosewood Volunteer Fire Department.
"It is something I enjoy," Price said. "I am 54 right now, and I still love running into a burning house."
Price followed in his father's footsteps by signing up for service at the Rosewood department at the tender age of 18.
Price said he worked alongside his father for nearly 10 years before his father left the department.
While Price's 35 years as a volunteer illustrates his love of firefighting, the job is not always a joy.
"The toughest part is rolling up on a scene and seeing an injured child or someone you know and having to come home to your own family and think about what you saw," Price said. "It touches your heart sometimes."
Price said leaning on other first responders who have witnessed similar situations is how he copes with the trauma he has experienced up close and personal while on the job.
"You have to have people in the department or other EMS people you can talk to. That is about the only way to get over it," he said.
Price also works part-time as an emergency medical technician with Wayne County Emergency Medical Services.
Like many other volunteers, a big draw for Price is the camaraderie at the department.
"Working with your fellow fighters, that is where the enjoyment is," he said.
Although Price said there is a pleasure in the friendships he has with other first responders, he said the real motivation is providing a service to the public.
"That is one reason most of us do it, firefighters and EMS, the one thing we want to do is to help the community," Price said. "The look you see in somebody's eyes when you have really helped them, it just makes your heart warm up."
Price said the gratification he has received during his long tenure as a first responder justifies the countless hours he has sacrificed, but with retirement now on the horizon, Price has some concern of who will fill the void when he leaves.
"There is more of an older generation in the fire department and a lot of us are phasing out," Price said. "I don't think there is enough publicity to draw the young guys in. We need to get younger people in here to start taking our place."
And while he doesn't know who will eventually take his place in Rosewood, he knows he has influenced the career of at least one person.
Price's son, Brandon Jones is a firefighter at the Goldsboro Fire Department and at Thoroughfare Volunteer Fire Department.
The three generations of volunteer firefighting of the Price family is a testament to the commitment and passion of selfless public service provided by firefighters across Wayne County.
"We do it for the love of it," Price said.