According to a survey by Roll Free Forwarding, the fifth most common childhood dream job is to be a firefighter – and for good reason. Firefighters are everyday heroes, and Dublin is home to some of Ohio’s finest: the Washington Township Fire Department (WTFD).
The department boasts some impressive statistics: 97 percent of its full-time firefighters are certified paramedics and its response time to emergency calls is a swift five and a half minutes. The WTFD couldn’t achieve what it has without its phenomenal crew, including longtime Dublin residents Andrew Peters and Evan Will.
Will grew up in Dublin and graduated from Dublin Coffman High School before leaving for college and attending fire school. When he was in elementary school, he had his first experience with the WTFD when his neighbor’s house was struck by lightning, causing it to catch fire. Everyone inside got out unharmed and although the ordeal might have been scary for other children, Will was awed.
“I thought it was the coolest thing ever,” says Will. “We got to walk through their house after the fire was out. The firemen were still there, and I just thought it was totally awesome.”
2021 marks Will’s seventh year with the WTFD.
Raymond G. LaVoie
Evan Will
Peters grew up in Columbus and attended Dublin Scioto for his junior and senior years of high school. Unlike Will, Peters didn’t grow up knowing he’d be battling fires one day.
“Firefighting just kind of fell into my lap,” says Peters. “It was one of those things where I had the opportunity to go to fire school and always thought it’d be interesting. Pretty much the day I walked into the academy I knew that this was the following that I was destined for.”
The WTFD made an impression upon Peters while he was in fire school, and he was honored to join the crew. Now, he’s a 10-year veteran of the department!
Raymond G. LaVoie
Andrew Peters
A look inside
There are a few surprising aspects of firefighting that the public doesn’t often see. It’s not just about riding the red truck and hosing down fires.
“The one thing people don’t always understand is the depth of the things that we handle,” says Peters. “The word ‘firefighters’ just kind of insinuates that we go and put out fires, but we have special rescue and hazmat and water rescue, rope rescue, confined space, and, more importantly, the medics.”
“When people call 9-1-1, we’re it. There’s no 9-1-2,” adds Will. “So, we have to have a solution for everything. We have guys from every single trade. They’re the smartest group of people I have ever been around as far as problem solving and trade work.”
And TV shows like Chicago Fire don’t always portray an accurate picture of firefighting.
“There are a lot of things that the media misrepresents in their depiction of firefighting,” says Peters. “It is a less glamorous job, and you don’t always get to see the fruits of your labor at the end. There are a lot of stories that we don’t always know how they turn out.”
Not every call involves explosions and Hollywood glamor, adds Will.
“As cheesy as it sounds, the show Paw Patrol probably depicts best what it’s really like, because it’s based on teamwork and bringing all the units together to rescue people,” he says.
Raymond G. LaVoie
Heroes of their own
Though Dublin couldn’t be prouder of its frontline workers, the WTFD don’t see themselves as heroes. Instead, they look to their crew and their families for inspiration and support.
“I don’t think anybody really sees themself as a hero,” says Peters, “but those small and massively impactful actions that I’ve seen crew members and people in our department do over time, when you see people come back into the station later on, it’s really obvious that some of our crews have had a deep and long-lasting impact on the community.”
“A hero is somebody who is willing to put others before themselves,” says Will. “The heroes I always think about, other than the guys that I work with, are dads.”
So, when asked his biggest personal hero, Will’s answer is no surprise.
“My dad. For showing me how to treat people, showing me how to treat others, how to be kind, how to be patient,” says Will. “I don’t know how to put it into words. He’s just awesome.”
Peters gives all the credit to his wife.
“There are a lot of things that are sacrificed to do this job, health and fitness and time and all that other stuff,” says Peters, “and (my wife) is left holding a lot of the other ends to make sure that it’s possible to do. She’s the one that I always lean on and has the greatest impact in my life.”
Firefighting has given the pair not only important skills and experience to become better firefighters – it’s given them the tools to become better community members and people when they take off the fireproof suits, too.
“It’s constantly impactful. I learn something new every single day,” says Will. “I’ve got 20 guys that want to make me better as a firefighter, as a dad, as a human being in a public service.”
Peters looks up to the firefighters who came before him, building the WTFD up from a small-town firehouse to the extremely effective fire department it is today.
“It’s the retirees and it’s the men and women that have been here 25 years and are looking to retire,” he says. “Those are the guys that I really looked to and am continuously impressed by and who, honestly, have had the best impact on the city.”
The relationship between the Dublin community and the WTFD is mutually supportive. As much impact as the firefighters have had on community members, the community’s incredible support has hugely influenced the lives of the firefighters, too.
“This community is just amazing. We’ve always been shown a massive amount of love and support from them,” says Peters. “It’s been really, really helpful in times. Knowing that you have the support of the community allows you to stay motivated and keep pushing forward.”
“I’ve driven fire trucks in the St. Paddy’s Day parade, the Fourth of July parade, and I see a bunch of smiling faces every time we come,” says Will. “It’s the greatest feeling in the world, getting looked up to by the young ones.”
Raymond G. LaVoie
Washington Fire Department Classes
The WTFP offers bimonthly CPR certification and first aid certification classes, training people how to handle emergency situations such as sprains, broken bones, shock and bleeding. 200,000 lives are saved every year by CPR, so it’s more than beneficial to know how to perform it.
The department also hosts a Red Cross for Babysitting class annually, giving teens more responsibility and know-how when it comes to caring for children.
Washington Township encourages people to keep an emergency kit in their car equipped with a flashlight, flares, blanket, snacks, gloves, jumper cables, ice scraper and first aid kit.
Fire Prevention Month
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) declared that October is Fire Prevention Month in 1922 after in commemoration of the great Chicago fire in 1871. The month is meant to serve as a reminder to practice fire safety and prepare households for emergency.
The NFPA records that three out of every five fire deaths result from fires in homes with no working smoke alarms and less than 50 percent of homeowners have an escape plan.
Smoke alarms are the fire line of defense and should be placed on every level of the home; the basement, inside each bedroom and especially the kitchen.
The American Red Cross records that home fires most often occur in the kitchen and the second leading cause are heating sources such as wood and fireplaces.
It’s not being overly cautious – more than half of all fire deaths occur between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., oftentimes because smoke detectors are in the wrong place or not near the source of the fire.
Another asset to creating a fire-safe home is to have a fire extinguisher on every floor of the home. Moreover, it’s important to actually know how to use it. Fire Engineering conducted a study that proved 75 percent of people could use an extinguisher with no training of the tool. Here is the acronym to help civilians remember:
Sarah Robinson is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
