‘I fight a different fire.’ For 50 years, Fred Bell has preached to Macon-Bibb firefighters

Fred Bell’s fingers have walked with Moses in the wilderness and fought the Battle of Jericho. His eyes and heart have found Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Folks who gather to hear his Sunday School lessons don’t mind a little fire and brimstone every now and then. After all, this is a fire station.

At 8 a.m. on Sundays — sometimes 8:30 if everyone has another cup of coffee — Bell will get on the intercom at the Macon-Bibb Fire Department headquarters on Oglethorpe Street and make his weekly announcement.

“We’re going to have Sunday School in a few minutes,’’ he will say. “Come on in. You need it. I need it. And God loves you.’’

Years ago, firefighter Dickie Malone would climb on the microphone and make his own introduction.

“Mr. Fred Bell, traveling evangelist, is here. If you remember what you’ve been doing this week, you better come on in here so he can cast those sins away.’’

Bell isn’t exactly a traveling evangelist or a Bible thumper. But he is an ordained minister and a rock of ages on Sunday mornings. On March 29, 1970 — Easter Sunday — Bell began teaching at Station No. 2 on Monroe Street. It’s the city’s oldest firehouse, built in 1902, where crews can still slide down a 15-foot pole to answer a call.

That’s 50 years of Sunday School lessons. He has been as faithful as Abraham.

“Mr. Fred has been dedicated to the firefighters in our department for 50 years, and the message he brings on Sunday mornings is probably the only church they get,’’ Battalion Chief Ferrell Cromer said. “A lot of these young guys probably don’t have home churches. A lot of them weren’t brought up in the church, so there’s no telling how many souls he has saved over the years with his messages.’’

Last Saturday, there was a reunion of firefighters at Station No. 10, the department’s headquarters on Oglethorpe. There was a fish fry at lunch to honor Bell for his ministry.

“Did I think I would be doing it for 50 years? I didn’t even think I would be living,’’ he said. “I was 38 years old at the time, and here I am 88.’’

Bell soon will begin chemotherapy treatments for prostate cancer, so it is uncertain how long he will be able to continue his Sunday School classes both downtown at headquarters and at Station No. 102 at the Macon Municipal Airport.

His wife, Dale, died last July. He lives in Centerville and still drives. He attends Sandy Valley Baptist Church in Warner Robins, and it often takes a miracle for him to not be late for the Sunday morning service after he teaches at the fire station.

“I would have to violate many traffic laws,’’ he said, laughing.

(“Thou Shalt Not Speed” should be one of the Ten Commandments.)

A large cast iron bell is mounted outside of headquarters. It has been a fixture at the fire department since 1895, when it hung in the bell tower at the original headquarters.

Although it is not a monument to Bell, it could be an appropriate namesake.

Ken Smith remembers Bell’s dedication to bringing his message to the Monroe Street station in the early 1970s.

“We always looked forward to them,’’ Smith said. “We would clean the firehouse and be ready for him on Sunday mornings. I don’t guess anyone in that firehouse ever missed one of his classes.’’

Bell is retired from civil service at Robins Air Force Base. He also has taught at Station No. 6 on Pio Nono and, for many years, has participated in a prison ministry. He has more than 30 years of his Sunday School lessons stashed away. So, Lord willing and Rocky Creek doesn’t rise, the classes still could go on.

Of course, he has lost his audiences to three-alarm fires while in the middle of First Corinthians or studying Hebrews. It might not be a 911 call for a burning bush, but it could be brush fire on Ash Street or a first responder in Huguenin Heights.

He always gets the weekend shift back for the next Sunday.

“They’re firefighters,’’ he said. “I tell them I fight a different fire.’’

Ed Grisamore teaches journalism at Stratford Academy in Macon. His column appears on Sundays in The Telegraph.

This story was originally published March 8, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "‘I fight a different fire.’ For 50 years, Fred Bell has preached to Macon-Bibb firefighters."