By Tom Rohrer
Alex Bates and Lyall Smith, two volunteer firefighters in Thurston County, are at opposite ends of the spectrum.
One is nearing the end of his service, while the other is just beginning. Both have worked in separate fire districts but their dedication and commitment to helping the community is exactly the same.
For the past 1.5 years, Bates has been a volunteer firefighter for the South Bay Fire Department, a volunteer based department that serves the South Bay and Johnson Point areas of north Thurston County.
Over the last two decades, Smith has served as Captain of the Volunteer Firefighters for the Tumwater Fire Department. He is the department volunteer coordinator along with Training Officer, Lt. Darlene Raffelson.
The two individuals took different paths to their volunteer service, but both were influenced somewhat by a family member. Bates’ father is a longtime paramedic firefighter and fire chief in Grays Harbor, while Smith was first told of volunteer firefighting by his cousin in the 1970’s.
Bates is working to become a full-time firefighter and Smith, who is a Deputy State Fire Marshall, is looking towards retirement.
The two enjoy their impact on the surrounding community and know what an important service volunteer firefighters provide.
“Any community would love to have a full-time, professional department, if they could afford it. But if that’s not possible, someone has to take responsibility, and that falls to dedicated individuals to take on the challenges,” said Smith, who served at the Black Lake Fire Department before his time at Tumwater.
“In the Navy, you don’t see the results of your work,” said Bates, who was deployed abroad as a member of the United States Navy before settling in Thurston County. “In the fire service, you’re seeing the results every day. You see that change, whether it’s in the kids at school or the elderly lady you help.”
Over his career, Smith has reflected on the term “volunteer firefighter.” He believes that the term doesn’t clearly define the extensive time commitment by the dedicated men and women who give their free time away.
“When I joined in 1976, a volunteer was a volunteer,” Smith said. “These days, there are lots of required certifications and on-going training. It’s not really much of a volunteer position anymore.”
For Bates, who serves a 12-to-24 hour shift every nine days (along with quarterly training) he hopes to parlay his volunteer duties into a full-time position.
“It was always a doorway to a fire service, and that’s the case for most people,” said Bates, who works for TCOMM 911 Emergency Response in Thurston County. “I’m chasing down the dream of becoming a firefighter.”
Smith notes that watching individuals, like Bates, rise through the ranks and proceed to have long, successful fire service careers is one of the most rewarding experiences.
“There’s nothing like it,” said Smith, a Thurston County native. “Tumwater Fire Department has a great history of supplying many of the professional firefighters with their start. It makes you so proud to see that.”
Smith has also been witness to a shift in focus towards firefighting. It was a change he felt in himself when he was just starting out at the Black Lake Department.
“When I joined, my decision was more about getting to drive a red truck and set off the siren. Not very long after, I was made a lieutenant, and was in charge of my very first structure fire, near the station. A few other volunteers and I had just arrived at the station, when someone ran over from across the street and told us about the fire. Their huge window had blown up, the fire was spreading, but it was something that worked out perfectly, and we knocked that fire out so quickly. Then I walked through the house and all the photo albums, bowling trophies, ceramic symbols were burned up. We saved the house but we lost the home,” Smith said.
“At that point, fire prevention made so much more sense to me. I’m glad that it happened very early in my career because it gave me more time to dedicate to fire prevention. In my current job, as deputy state fire marshal, I am doing fire inspections and checking out licensed care facilities, looking at very vulnerable populations. That’s the other rewarding part of my career, having an impact on fire prevention,” added Smith.
Like Smith, Bates also has the opportunity to work with his surrounding community on fire prevention, and has an impact on those who need it most.
“I enjoy the impact we have on kids, such as attending an assembly to explain ‘stop, drop, and roll’ and I think that is making the most difference,” Bates said. “We hold birthday parties at the fire station on a Saturday, letting the kids ride in an engine, and spray water. There are many families involved and the impact we have on children is huge.”
“It’s been so wonderful to work with little kids and see how you can have an impact on them,” Smith said. “I said for a long time that the fire service should be the most important, because it keeps them safe.”
Bates and Smith both note the family friendly aspect of fire service.
“(The family atmosphere within the department) is one of my favorite parts about being in the fire service,” Bates said. “It helped me fall in love with the job. My wife and kids will come see me every shift, have dinner, watch the game. That kind of family atmosphere is just super wholesome.”
“That’s a very big part of why I’ve stayed in it and why it will be hard to leave it,” Smith said. “It’s one of the best families that anyone could ever have.”
As Smith’s decorated career comes to an end, the former professional musician who grew up playing at local hotel clubs, has the proper perspective for anyone on the fire service.
“I have to say is that it’s not for everybody. It’s something most people think they would really like and it doesn’t always work that way. You see people at their worst and on the other hand, you see people at their best,” noted Smith, who was nominated as a Red Cross hero a few years back.
“A lot of things happen in this world that shake your confidence in fellow human beings,” Smith continued. “You have to look at these people and see where these hearts are and it doesn’t take you too long to realize there are more good people around than bad. I just see so much dedication in all of the area’s volunteers, so much so that’s it’s hard for me not to smile.”
