Macon-Bibb Fire loses 1,700+ years of combined service with 57 retirees
Larry Smallwood grew up playing on fire trucks yet didn't want to follow in the boots of his father and great-grandfather.
But in 1971, he was drafted to be the 20th man on a new Macon-Bibb County ladder truck.
Smallwood put aside his dream of being a history teacher and coach and joined the department where his great-grandfather took care of the horses on the ladder truck in the late 1800s.
"I went out to the training area on Rocky Creek Road, Station 7, the drill tower, and I fell in love with it," Smallwood said. "And it's taken me 44 years to get out of it."
He enjoyed his job so much, he turned in 3,400 hours sick leave when he retired at the end of July as director of fire prevention and the department's longest-serving firefighter to take the retirement package offered by the county.
Friday morning, alarm bells went off at headquarters, but Smallwood and nearly five dozen firefighters no longer have to jump into action.
In a retirement ceremony, the department honored 57 firefighters with combined service of more than 1,700 years.
All but one of the men fought fires for more than 20 years; 34 have at least 30 years on the department.
A half-dozen have been firefighters for more than 40 years, including battalion chiefs Preston Thomas and Stephen Stafford, and captains Dewey Davis, Samuel Brown and Kenneth Cox.
Macon-Bibb County Mayor Robert Reichert thanked each of them as they came through a receiving line and picked up plaques, pins and gold watches with the city seal.
"This is a happy day, and this is a day of congratulations and historic transition, but it is certainly not without some regret that we see you go, because you have been here so long and you have done so much," Reichert told the firefighters gathered in the truck bays off Oglethorpe Street.
Fire Chief Marvin Riggins joked that he had to call the radio room early that morning because he didn't readily recognize the voices he heard commanding the scene of an overnight house fire ignited by a space heater.
"Next person up" has been their motto recently, he said.
"But in order for us to be able to do that, it had to come from the fact that you guys left a legacy," Riggins said. "You saw one, you reached one, touched one and we're going to keep one. So thank you for your training that you bestowed upon us, the experience that you've left us."
Riggins thanked the men for their leadership, guidance, Herculean effort and commitment to the department and the community.
Some retirees dressed in coats and ties, while others wore jeans and T-shirts as they received farewell handshakes and munched on cake.
Sgt. Levornia Franklin, who preaches at Wesley Chapel in Milledgeville, repeatedly shouted "Praise God" as he picked up each parting gift from his 23 years.
Sgt. Eric John received a standing ovation from his firefighter family as he walked up to receive his plaque.
The 24-year veteran is still recovering from a July 2013 accident that nearly killed him and left him with a wobble in his walk.
John, an EMT, was working an accident on Interstate 75 when he was hit by a car.
"It felt good that my peers thought that much of me and what I went through to acknowledge me. That felt good," said John, who enjoyed each year with the department. "I miss it, and I know I will probably miss it more as the time goes by, but I understand we have to move on."
Retiring Battalion Chief Stephen Stafford used a cane as he approached the leaders lining the head tables.
Stafford was the last injured firefighter to be released from the hospital following a floor collapse in a Feb. 11 house fire that killed Lt. Randy Parker.
Stafford spent five weeks in an Augusta hospital and has yet to fully recover from his injuries.
"I am thinking how blessed that all of us are to work a profession that we truly love," Stafford said. "It brings joy to my heart just to look at the faces and the memories I have had in the past. So joyful."
The 41-year veteran could hardly speak as he wanted to thank the community for their prayers.
"I still get full from the emotions when I think about it because I think about Lt. Parker and his family, and I just want to thank everybody for everything."
Smallwood mentioned Parker's funeral, which drew firefighters from all over, as an example of the brotherhood among those who put their lives on the line to protect others.
"People don't realize that sometimes it's like siblings at home get ill with each other, but most of it is, once that bell hit, all that goes out the window. They've all got a job to do," he said. "It's a fantastic thing, and you could have seen that when Lt. Parker died because the firemen came from all over the state and the country."
To contact writer Liz Fabian, call 744-4303 and follow her on Twitter @liz_lines.
This story was originally published October 30, 2015 at 4:51 PM with the headline "Macon-Bibb Fire loses 1,700+ years of combined service with 57 retirees ."