Retiring fire chief is ‘the last of the Mohicans’ [Charleston Daily Mail, W.Va.]

Dec. 30--When the clock strikes midnight on Saturday, it will mean more than the beginning of a New Year for Tom Johnson.

At that moment, Johnson will officially leave the Sissonville Volunteer Fire Department after more than a half century of service, including 30 years as chief.

Asked how it will feel to be free of emergency calls, he answers swiftly, "I don't know. I was just a kid when I started. I've been here 50-plus years. I'm the last of the Mohicans."

While he isn't excited about leaving, he believes the time has come to retire.

Johnson, 74, was among founders of the department in early 1961.

"It started out when a woman's group got the idea we needed a volunteer fire department," he said. "A group of 10 of us started out. We borrowed money to buy the first truck and borrowed money to build a station. The first truck was a '50 model GMC that came from a fire department in Pennsylvania. The old fire chief in Dunbar sold it to us on payments. We'd go on a fire and pass the hat for gas and truck payments. We grubbed for years."

Firemen worked out of borrowed space and eventually built a station at Sissonville.

Johnson's ancestors first settled in the Sissonville area in 1782. He knows every mile from growing up there as well as through his work. He is also well versed on the area's history.

"Sissonville is an old town," he said. "In the mid 1700s it was first settled by people getting away from English rule."

He and his wife of 51 years, Jeanette, live near the old Sissonville Middle School in a 150-year-old house that was renovated and raised after the flood of 1939.

"Everything in Sissonville is gauged as a result of the '39 flood," he said.

They now have three children and two grandchildren.

Before there was a local fire department, Johnson recalls seeing several homes burn to the ground before the first truck could arrive at the scene.

"There was no fire protection in the area," he said. "In '61 I went to work for the Sissonville water company. I had just gotten out of the Air Force. In '61 there were 350 homes in Sissonville. When I left (the water company) in 1989 there were 1,775 homes."

Sissonville Volunteer Fire Department now covers a 125-square-mile radius that includes 8,200 families, or about 25,000 people. There are now three stations located in Sissonville -- Call Road in Pocatalico and Edens Fork in the Guthrie area.

The department now has 20 active volunteer firemen and a roster of about twice that many.

While the department has grown over the years, it has also had its share of setbacks.

The department's main station on Sissonville Drive near the new middle school was destroyed by an electrical fire in the early morning hours of Oct. 1, 2010. The blaze also destroyed a rescue engine, another engine, a tanker truck and an ATV.

Rebuilding has been complicated with funding coming from sources ranging from insurance payments and grants to fundraisers and donations.

A professional as well as industrious group, firemen worked with borrowed equipment and space when necessary.

"We never missed a call," Johnson said.

The department is now in the process of accepting bids for a new firehouse to be constructed on Call Road, which connects W.Va. 21 to Interstate 77.

Johnson said the department got 560 calls last year ranging from wrecks, explosions and fires to a child locked in a car, a dog trapped in a well, and a horse stuck in a creek. There were an additional 900 medical calls.

First responders risk their lives over and over. Johnson has been there when buildings have exploded and when houses have caved.

As fire chief, Johnson has been responsible for his own safety and training as well as for all firefighters within the department. He has undergone extensive training and made sure the other firemen were educated for their respective duties.

"You name it and there is a diploma for it in fire service," he said.

Johnson is confident that Tim Gooch is qualified to step into the role of chief.

"I'm running fire calls until midnight on the 31st," Johnson said.

Jan. 1, 2012 begins a new era of retirement for Johnson. However, his wisdom will remain intact at the Sissonville Volunteer Fire Department through the professionalism of firefighters who learned from his example.

Contact writer Charlotte Ferrell Smith at charlotte@dailymail.com or 304-348-1246.

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(c)2011 the Charleston Daily Mail (Charleston, W.Va.)

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