Catlettsburg Fire calls on Carroll

Oct. 5—CATLETTSBURG — It could be inevitable: John Carroll has been named Catlettsburg fire chief.

"I've been around public service for most of my life," he said. "My dad retired from firefighting and I've been around fire service since I was 7 or 8 years old. It's one of those things, once you do it and it gets in your blood, so to speak, it's hard to shake it."

Carroll, a Gallipolis native who has lived in the area for more than 20 years, said he was in fire service when he lived in Ohio. He started in Catlettsburg as a volunteer in 2004, then worked part time before being hired into the department full time as a captain in 2009.

"There was about a year that I was not involved (in fire service), but it was one of those things; it was still burning in me," he said.

While he has taken a few online classes at the university level, Carroll said his career path didn't require a degree.

"A lot of my education is in management and fire service," he said, adding he has known engineers, biologists and physicians who become firefighters. Carroll also said he's a fire instructor for Kentucky State Fire and Rescue Training and an EMT.

Part of the draw to firefighting is Carroll's belief in helping one's own community.

"I want to better our department, make the community a safer community," he said. "I want citizens of the city to feel safe and know they have a very adequate and professional department here in this city."

Plans for the fire department include improvements in what can be offered.

"We're trying to set goals and some of those goals might be real ambitious and some may be very possible goals," Carroll said, adding more specialized training for career and volunteer firefighters is on the list of goals.

"Volunteers play a very vital part in this department," he said. "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my volunteers."

He said interest in firefighting ebbs and flows. There was much interest after the 9/11 terror attacks. As they have aged out, finding new people with the time and interest to devote has been challenging.

"People feel they don't have time to volunteer any longer, and that makes it rough because departments across the nation are really struggling to get new members just because of the simple fact that some of the guys in the department for years are getting to point where you're at an age your body tells you you shouldn't be doing this much longer but your mind is telling your body, 'Don't listen to him. We're still young. We can keep going.'"

In addition, responsibilities of firefighters have expanded.

"We don't just put out fires," Carroll said. "There's emergency medical care, hazardous materials, specialized rescues in river or swift water, search and rescues after natural disasters."

Carroll, 44, has six children ranging in age from 3 to 23. His wife, Carla, is an emergency room nurse at King's Daughters Medical Center.

"This is my home," he said of his feelings about the area. "In the 20-some years I've lived here, I've been back (to Gallipolis) just a handful of times. This is home to me, from Day 1."

(606) 326-2661 — lward@dailyindependent.com