Never Judge a Book by its Cover
Oklahoma FirefighterOctober 202015
The Faces of a Volunteer Firefighter Orlando Volunteer Firefighter Nick Leach was born in Perry and raised just East of Orlando. He practiced law for 28 years before being appointed the Associate District Judge of Noble County by Governor Mary Fallin in 2004. After assisting with a major fire in 1995, he saw the need for some additional manpower at the fire department and signed up as a volunteer. He has been with Orlando FD for 24 years, 6 months. In a recent question-and-answer session with Oklahoma Firefighter, Nick, 61, shared the following: Schools attended? I attended Orlando, then Mulhall-Orlando school, graduating high school in 1977, then Oklahoma State University graduating in 1981 with a degree in Accounting. Finally, I graduated from Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1985. Firefighting background? Orlando did not have a very well organized fire department prior to 1996. My grandfather built some of the early fire trucks, and he and some other men manned the trucks as needed. We had a couple major fires in the 1994-1996, and it was obvious that the department needed better organization and equipment. How’d you go about getting into the fire service? Our department was organizing formally in accordance with statutes, so a meeting was held and all the current members formally joined the department. What do you like best about being a firefighter? You get a sense of service to your community. My family goes back four generations in the community, and giving back to the people that your family has known for decades gives me a great sense of pride. What have been some highlights of your fire service career so far? The camaraderie among firefighters -- not just from my department, but from your neighboring departments, as well -- is unique in the fire service. Spending two or three days fighting fires with your teammates and neighbors, you develop a sense of brotherhood. What’s it like working a full-time job and being a volunteer firefighter? It can be difficult trying to split time between work and fire service. There’s training, meetings and, of course, call outs. As a volunteer, you can’t make all the call outs and it’s very difficult not being able to be with your teammates on calls. Has there ever been a time when your career has interfered with your job as
a volunteer firefighter? Of course. When I’m on the bench in a trial or conducting a hearing, I’m not able to respond to calls. Sometimes work has to come first. But with a volunteer department, you know that there are those who can respond when you can’t, and you can respond when they can’t. Is there one call that sticks out in your mind? We had a major fire in our district several years ago, the kind of wildfire where conditions are perfect with low humidity and extremely high winds. We were just trying to stay ahead and protect some structures. My partner and I were in a brush truck ahead of the fire checking on residences as we came across a small trailer house in the middle of a pasture. The fire was raging not far behind us as a young woman came out of the trailer with two very small children in tow. She was frantic as the smoke and flames were clearly visible and were heading directly for the house. We sheltered the young woman and children in our truck as we prepared to make a stand to protect her house. We were fortunate to have a full tank of water and we were able to divert the fire around her house. The relief and gratitude reflected in her tear-filled eyes are something I’ll never forget. It’s moments like this that make all the sacrifice, time, sweat and effort worth it all. How has the fire department evolved since you first joined? We’ve had tremendous change in our department since I first joined. At first, we were mostly building all our own apparatus, as we didn’t have funds to purchase new equipment. We used mainly Forest Service hand-me-down trucks which were mostly worn out when we got them. We did the best we could with many volunteers providing parts and supplies out of their own pockets. Then, our county passed a sales tax devoted to rural fire service. Before long, our budget increased many fold and soon thereafter, we were able to purchase our first new brush truck. Over the years we have purchased several new apparatus along with other equipment. We are one of the best-equipped small departments in the state, thanks to the citizens of our county. What are your hopes for the future? I hope that my department continues to commit resources in equipment and training. I also hope that the younger generation understands the need to give back to our community and volunteer to be firefighters.
Help support your Oklahoma Firefighters Museum Expansion and Oklahoma Fallen and Living Firefighters Memorial PURCHASE AN OKLAHOMA FIREFIGHTER LICENSE TAG! Money received from the purchase of each tag goes directly to financing upkeep on the Oklahoma Fallen and Living Firefighters Memorial and Oklahoma Firefighters Museum. Oklahoma Firefighter tags cost $40 a year (on top of regular tag fees) and $20 goes directly to the Museum/Memorial.
Tags can be purchased from local tag agents any time during the year -- not just with your regular plate. And they can be customized to 6 letters as approved by the Tax Commission. Forms for Oklahoma Firefighter tags can be downloaded from www.osfa.info.