Cherry Blossom crowd cheers Macon-Bibb firefighters
When a 53-year-old firefighter busts out a break dance in the middle of Cherry Street in front of hundreds of people, it’s safe to say a good time is being had.
And if anyone needed to have a good time Saturday, it was Macon-Bibb County firefighters.
They lost one of their own, Lt. Randy Parker, in a fire Feb. 11. On Wednesday, they welcomed home Fire District Chief Stephen Stafford, who was severely injured in the same blaze. They have also dealt with a string of other fatal fires in recent weeks.
Parker and Stafford served in Battalion 23, Shift 2, and members of that same shift competed in their honor Saturday in the Cherry Blossom Festival’s firefighter competition.
When the team had a near flawless run in the hose-and-ladder portion of the contest, Capt. Danny Angelo celebrated with a break dance. He said they originally weren’t going to participate and only Thursday did they put the team together.
“We talked to the guys and they decided they wanted to do it for Lt. Parker,” Angelo said.
The team finished second to Battalion 21, Shift 1, but from the way they celebrated, they might as well have been the winners. Stafford was there and team members gathered around him with the trophy and a lot of joy.
Stafford spent 36 days in Doctors Hospital in Augusta before his release Wednesday.
“I’m just glad to be back home in Macon,” Stafford said. “There’s nowhere like home.”
Cpl. Arthur Parker, no relation to Randy Parker, won an individual title by being the fastest to put on his gear. He put on his full fire suit, including the oxygen tank and mask, in 38.5 seconds. He has won it a couple of times before.
“Practice, practice, definitely practice,” Parker responded when asked the key to his win.
The competition wasn’t the only time firefighters were in the spotlight Saturday. For the fourth year in a row, they won the bed race.
They have tended to win it easily in the past, but this year was a close call. In the final heat between the top two overall finishers, Geotechnical Environmental Consultants put up a time of 18.62 seconds and the firefighters edged them with a time of 18.40.
“We try not to compete against any other team, but compete against ourselves and give 110 percent, and I think we did that,” said Sgt. Torry Sidney.
The firefighters have always been the sentimental favorite, but this year that seemed to be even more the case as thousands cheered their push down Cherry Street.
“It feels really good to be out in the community and actually see how much support there is for us,” Sidney said. “It feels good to put a visual with the support that we already knew we had.”
Following the bed race was the popular high-heel race, with heats for men, women and children. The race benefits breast cancer research.
Nathan Dees, of Macon, was volunteering Saturday and was an impromptu entrant in the men’s race. He ran it with heels taped onto his regular shoes. He won the race.
John Stroud, of Lizella, finished third, and didn’t seem too enthused about trying it again next year to see if he could get the win.
“It’s pretty rough,” he said of running it high heels. “It hurts your feet.”
The downtown events were part of a full day of activities that began with the pancake breakfast at Central City Park. Jake Ferro, the festival president, said volunteers told him the line when they opened was the longest they had ever seen.
It also turned out to be a perfect weather for the first full-day of the festival.
“Everything is clicking right now,” Ferro said. “The weather is fantastic. If it can hold up for another 10 days we will be all right.”
To contact writer Wayne Crenshaw, call 256-9725.
This story was originally published March 21, 2015 at 7:11 PM with the headline "Cherry Blossom crowd cheers Macon-Bibb firefighters ."