THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 12, 1995 TAG: 9503110119
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 142 lines
VISIONS OF SHINY, red fire engines, screaming sirens, flashing lights and dashing heroics fuel the dreams of many a tyke who wants to grow up to be a firefighter.
Fortunately for Suffolk, there are dozens of folks for whom the dream has never faded in spite of the gritty realities of firefighting - the discomfort and danger, of fighting fires, the long hours of training, the maintenance, the fund-raising and the demands on their families.
These firefighters must balance careers, homes and families with a serious commitment to the city's safety.
Four Suffolk volunteer firefighters were recently selected - by their peers - as Volunteer Firefighter of the Year at their respective stations.
They are Robert W. Nelms, Chuckatuck; Sam King, Driver; John Lewis Jr., Holland, and Joseph Christopher ``Chris'' Asbell, Whaleyville.
All were cited for all-around, outstanding service to the fire companies.
And all had difficulty estimating how much time they devote to the fire companies each week.
``I have no idea,'' Lewis said. ``It is so much a part of my life; it is hard to tell.''
Nelms said, ``Once you are a fireman, you are always a fireman pretty much.''
He said, ``I don't think you ever lose that desire to help people. I like helping the community, and it is something I have always wanted to do since I was a kid.''
Three of the four volunteers shared a childhood fascination with firefighting that has not diminished with their years of service.
WHALEYVILLE
Firefighting is a father/son venture for Whaleyville Chief Joseph B. Asbell and his son Chris.
But there's no doubt that Chris is in the driver's seat. ``He lives close to the station and is the first one there and the first one in the driver's seat,'' Joe Asbell said.
Chris, 20, and a 1992 graduate of Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, has been a firefighter with the Whaleyville company since he was 15. A welder with Schadel Sheet Metal Works Inc. during the day, Chris is also the fire company's chief engineer and an emergency medical technician.
He grew up listening to and wanting to share his father's firefighting experiences.
``This award means a whole lot to me because I try to follow in my father's footsteps all the time,'' Chris said. Joe Asbell was honored with the same award when it was given for the first time, in 1986.
There are no specific requirements for the Whaleyville award, Joe Asbell explained. ``It is a general vote and goes to who tries to do the most to help the department.'' HOLLAND
Capt. John Lewis Jr., 30, was 15 years old when he joined the Holland Volunteer Fire Department and was promptly nicknamed ``John John'' to distinguish him from his father, Holland Fire Chief John Lewis Sr.
Even as a very young child, Lewis had tagged along with his father in the family car to an occasional fire. ``I had to keep out of the way and stay by the truck,'' Lewis said. ``But I saw my Dad was doing something good, and it looked like it was something I could do also.''
A 1982 Forest Glen graduate, Lewis works as an electrical groundsman for the City of Franklin, a job that complements his firefighting training.
There have been a few frightening moments in his firefighting career, including the time Lewis was trapped underneath a burning house until he could wriggle his air tank free from whatever had snagged it. ``For a while I didn't think I was going to get back out of there,'' he said.
There have also been countless rewarding moments, like the time he helped revive a man suffering cardiac arrest. ``He had been down for 17 minutes, and we brought him back to life,'' Lewis said. CHUCKATUCK
Robert W. ``Bobby'' Nelms, 38, is on the other end of a father/son fire-fighting team. His 16-year-old son, J.W. Hogan, just joined the Chuckatuck Volunteer Fire Department with the same enthusiasm that drew Nelms into firefighting when he was 16.
After eight years, Nelms took a few years off, then rejoined the department.
A 1975 graduate of Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, Nelms is a mechanic for Lipton Tea and uses his rotating shift work schedule to the fire department's advantage. ``I spend a whole lot of time up here at the station doing all the work on the trucks,'' Nelms said.
To be eligible for Chuckatuck's award, a firefighter must attend a minimum of 50 percent of the department's training sessions, meetings and fire calls. Nelms, who also earned the honor last year, responded to 105 of the department's 150 fire calls this year.
``My firefighting experiences have all been good, but since we have started doing EMS calls, I would have to say that actually helping to save somebody's life is the biggest thrill,'' Nelms said. DRIVER
Seven years ago, Sam King woke up one morning with the certain knowledge that his music career as a bass guitarist was going nowhere fast and it was time to make a change.
Searching for a new direction, King moved from Chesapeake to Suffolk and joined the Driver Volunteer Fire Department.
``The excitement of firefighting replaced the excitement of entertaining,'' King, a 31-year-old bachelor, said.
After trying out other occupations allied to emergency services (a medical transport driver and an emergency room technician), King joined the Newport News Fire Department as a professional firefighter. In his leisure time, he continues to spend 10 to 15 hours a week at Driver, where he is a lieutenant and a shock trauma technician.
``Every time the doors go up, the trucks roll out, and we head off to a call, the excitement is the big thing with me,'' King said. ``I just love knowing I am going out there to do something.''
He said, ``It doesn't make any difference to me if it is a routine call or an emergency call. You are there to help somebody.''
Are there ever times when the calls are more frightening than exciting?
``Every call you go on can be, because you never know what is out there,'' King said. ``You just focus on all you have been trained to do.''
Last month, King was presented the Garland Matthews Firefighter of the Year Award.
Matthews was the first chief of the Driver department and one of those who organized the department in 1961.
``The award is given to someone who excelled in overall firemanship, leadership, and administration,'' said Driver Chief Steve Moody. ILLUSTRATION: ON THE COVER
[Color Photo]
FOREMOST FIREFIGHTERS
The four Firefighters of the Year featured on the cover are: Sam
King of Driver, left front; Chris Asbell of Whaleyville, right
front; John Lewis Jr. of Holland, at left door; and Bobby Nelms of
Chuckatuck, at right door. Staff photographer John H. Sheally II
took the picture.
Chris Asbell
Capt. John Lewis Jr.
Robert W. Nelms
Lt. Sam King
by CNB