Benson native blends community spirit, professionalism into firefighting career

By RANDY CAPPS

Alan Johnson grew up in Benson, started volunteering at the fire department in 1996, joined the staff as an engineer in 2002 and became the town’s chief six years later.

That public service, and a healthy dose of community spirit makes him a good choice for the 2023 Johnston Now Honors Outstanding Firefighter Award.

Of course, much has changed in Johnston County during his 15-year tenure as chief. But Johnson’s approach isn’t all that different these days.

“There’s a lot more traffic and houses,” he said. “Benson hasn’t changed as much as some other places in the county, but we can tell it’s coming.

“We have much better equipment than we did then. We have more paid staff, but we tend to have fewer volunteers. We’ve been fortunate over the years to get grants to get better equipment.”

Many people want to climb the ladder in firefighting, moving on to bigger cities and larger departments. But not Johnson.

“I’ve never been anywhere else,” he said. “Never looked anywhere else. … I love people, and I love helping people. I love the community. I love Benson, that’s the main thing.”

That spirit shows up in the efforts of the entire department, which now carries an insurance rating of 2, which saves business owners and residents money on their insurance bill.

While that’s an important achievement, it doesn’t overshadow the personal touch that Johnson brings to the job.

“We’re right there at I-95 and 40,” he said. “Someone there has gotten in a wreck on the way to the airport, I’ve put them in the truck and taken them to the airport so they could get there in time. I’ve taken people to rent cars in Fayetteville or Raleigh. … I tell them that if my wife and boys were off somewhere, I would hope somebody would do the same for them. That’s kind of the way I was raised.”

With his strong Benson roots, it’s only natural that Johnson would want the fire department to be closely connected to the town as well.

“Loretta (Byrd) always keeps us busy with community events,” he said. “She always thanks me, but I always tell her I don’t mind. Anything going on, we try to show up because we’re part of the community. From our side, being seen is important. A lot of people don’t realize we’re there until they really need us. But, if we can get out there and be seen, people know we’re here.

“When somebody calls 911, to me, it might not be that bad. But to them, it may be the worst day of their life. You’ve got to have that trust. If something’s wrong with your house, they’re letting you go in there. … It’s a big trust thing. The more we can be seen, meet them, talk to them, I think the better off we are.”

The Benson Fire Department handled 1,374 calls last year, and is pacing ahead of that figure so far in 2023. Johnson believes that it takes a special kind of person to serve.

“Just anybody can’t be in the fire service,” he said. “They’ve got to want to. It’s got to be in your heart to go out and help people. Because you’re working for a municipality or the government, you’re not going to get rich. You’ve got to have the passion, but it’s very, very rewarding when you get to help somebody in need.

“Without the volunteers, none of this would be possible. They help keep it all together. They’re our numbers when something happens. .. They’re the grease in the wheel that keeps it going.”

Some people would say the same thing about the chief.