Local fire chief, coordinator retires after 40 years of service
OKOLONA, Miss. (WCBI) – A local fire chief is getting ready to hang up his helmet after 40 years of service.
Terry Tucker pulled double duty as Okolona’s Fire Chief and Fire Coordinator for Monroe County.
The longtime firefighter has seen many changes during his time of service, but he’s grateful to have served his community.
“I just really wanted to do this, it was driven into me to do it,” said Tucker.
Tucker always knew he wanted to be a firefighter.
Following in his father’s footsteps, the fire chief has served for nearly 40 years and now he’s getting ready to start a new chapter.
“You don’t call a fireman on your good days you call them on your worst days and we try to make them feel as good as we can when they leave,” said Tucker.
It’s a job that calls for a lot of grit, and the number of people willing to answer the call has been declining.
“It takes a special person that wants to be a volunteer fireman. Give up their time away from their family to go out and train and learn what they need to learn then get up in the middle of the night and fight fire all night and go to their real job the next day so they can pay bills for their family. It takes special. It’s not there anymore like it was,” said Tucker.
Some of the biggest changes he has seen is the equipment.
“You can have six hoses out operating and you turn one off and the other hose never really knows that hose went off. It’s all internal. This new fire truck to my right here has a black box just like an airplane. If this truck were to be wrecked they can come in and read that box to see how fast that truck was going, how quickly they hit their brakes, how fast they went around the curve, or did they brake at the red light. It’s all internal and that’s just some of the safety precautions and then you have the airbags and things like that,” said Tucker.
Kenny Hall is the newest member of the Okolona Fire Department.
While his time with the chief may have been short, he has learned some important lessons from his mentor.
“We’re all a family here and we are all here to have each other’s back and carry each other not only through life but each call,” said Hall.
While every day isn’t easy, the smallest things often make the biggest difference.
“If you can sometimes save one thing. If you can save a family bible, or maybe a photo album of some loved ones that passed away or ancestors that sort of makes you feel like your job is worthwhile,” said Tucker.
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