Cleburne Fire Marshal to retire today

Oct. 26--Cleburne Fire Marshal Brent Easdon's 28-year tour of duty with the only department he ever worked and the only one he ever wanted to work wraps up today.

A retirement farewell celebration will be held 2-4 p.m. today at Cleburne City Hall, 10 N. Robinson St.

"I really love this department," Easdon said. "When I turned in my resignation it was bittersweet and I hated to do it. But then, the next day, it felt like a weight was lifted and it's the right thing to do now. Because there are other things I can do that I've been putting on hold for a while. I'm excited."

Which is not to say he won't miss it.

"The camaraderie of the fire department really is a family," Easdon said. "When you're on shift you spend a third of your life with these guys and build pretty tight bonds and end up thinking of them as family. There's nothing you wouldn't do for them."

The feeling among Easdon's fellow firefighters is mutual.

"Even though we are very happy that Brent is able to retire and spend more time with his family, filling his shoes moving forward is going to be a tough task," Fire Chief Scott Lail said.

Easdon's journey to the Cleburne Fire Department began early.

"Growing up I thought being a fireman was cool," Easdon said. "I've even still got a picture at the house when I was just little bitty dressed up as a firefighter."

Easdon's dreams of battling fires almost got sidetracked in college.

"I was torn between ministry but figured I don't quite have the personality to become a preacher," Easdon said. "So, in looking for ways I could serve, I realized the fire service met that need. I could help people and do good things and it just seemed to fit my personality."

With five generations of Cleburne ties and having graduated Cleburne High School in 1981, hometown was the sole choice when it came time to apply for a department.

"Lots of friends around here," Easdon said. "Know everybody it seems like. This is our town. This is my town and I'm really committed to Cleburne because it's home. I figured if I'm going to make a difference someplace I'd rather make a difference here."

From firefighter to fire marshal, Easdon said he's jumped at every job offered him through the years.

"Again, I'm torn," Easdon said when asked to name his favorite job. "I really enjoyed being a station officer. But the best job in the department is driver. You're not a rookie. You're not tail board. But you're not an officer. An officer has a lot of connection with administrative and that's fine and I've enjoyed it. But being a lieutenant with a station is kind of a tight, small world that's pretty nice."

Known as the knot guru for his adeptness with ropes, Easdon also organized the department's first dive team.

"A gentleman lost a boat near the dam and called the department," Easdon said. "[Assistant Fire Chief Keith Scarbrough] said it wasn't pressing and no big deal. But he also kind of challenged me and bet we couldn't bring it up. I was like, 'Yeah, I can do that.'

"We found it, brought it up and drug it back to shore just in a short afternoon. The guy was ecstatic to get his boat back. It had just sank straight down. Still had all his fishing tackle sitting in the boat."

Lake Pat's full of surprises, Easdon said.

"Where the golf course is now, if you continue down Country Club the road actually goes in and you can find it in the lake," Easdon said. "Two years ago, just off the road underwater is an old stock tank that's 8 foot by 16 foot with an 18-inch concrete wall around it. There's stuff out there that's kind of interesting but you can't see any of it because once you get below about 6 inches you can't really see anything."

Scarbrough said Easdon will be missed, but also recalled a time he was so mad he was ready to choke Easdon.

"I was a young firefighter and I loved chocolate pie," Scarbrough said. "My wife Lisa's grandmother makes perfect chocolate pie. For lunch one day she brought two chocolate pies. I've got to have Cool Whip on them so she brought them with Cool Whip and everything.

"We had a big meal at lunch. Everybody's sitting around. We know we've got chocolate pie but we need a little recovery time. Brent goes in the kitchen and he's making a lot of noise but we're not thinking anything about it. He comes back, sits down and his bowl looks like it's been run through a blender. If you ever watch Brent eat, he mixes everything together and eats it that way. I said, 'Man, you ruined that piece of pie. Why did you do that?' He said that's the way he likes to eat.

"A few minutes later I go in to get me a slice of pie. He did that to the entire piece of pie. Not just his piece of pie, the entire pie. So I told him at that point he was not allowed to have any more chocolate pie ever, ever again."

Easdon also had a penchant for moving things around, Scarbrough joked.

"Brent liked to rearrange the supplies and equipment on the trucks depending on what mood he was in that day," Scarbrough said. "Most firemen like all the equipment to stay in the same place so yeah, there were plenty of discussions we had with him about do not move things on the truck just cause the mood hits you."

On the other hand, his talents are many, Scarbrough said.

"When it comes to rope and technical rescue he's the one to go to," Scarbrough said. "It's funny, impressive really how he can look at a situation and determine where the pulleys and ropes and knots need to be and just sees that in his head. He can just sit there and it automatically comes to him."

Easdon also helped develop the department's fire prevention programs for children from creating the puppets to designing sets and writing the skits.

"As a young firefighter you don't realize how important fire prevention presentations are because you're more excited about fighting fires," Scarbrough said. "But now I think of the impact Brent made on those young lives growing up and I guarantee he's saved lives through that. One reason I know is that I've been on calls where a mom will come up and tell us her son or daughter attended one of those classes and now they're telling their parents about fire safety."

Asked why he's retiring now, Easdon said his first grandchild is due in January.

"My kids are still young and they need to work," Easdon said. "So I think I'll be a great built in baby sitter."

He also plans to become a scuba instructor and increase his involvement with his church.

"I don't plan on just sitting around," Easdon said. "I'm in a position now where I have the time and can afford to do what may passion calls me to do."

Plus, Easdon joked, his wife is already at work on the honey do list.

"She said, 'You keep telling everybody I'm generating a list,'" Easdon said. "I said, "Well, you are.' She said, 'Well, I am now.' I think by last night she had about 14 things on it already."

Cleburne Assistant Fire Chief Bruce Gavitt said Easdon will be missed and hard to replace.

"Brent added to the department in so many areas but the main thing is he's a man of good moral character and if anything he'll be remembered for in this department it will be that," Gavitt said.

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