Follow the smoke

 On Saturday, October 5, the fire-rescue family and community gathered to dedicate the newly renovated Goochland Courthouse Company 5 fire-rescue station in honor of Chief Fred. T. “Tommy” Carter, Jr.

Current Company 5 Volunteer District Chief Jenna Nelson welcomed all to the event with fire-rescue folk resplendent in dress uniforms dripping with the gold braid that signifies years of service.

District Chief Jenna Nelson (Company 5 image)

Jo Anne, Chief, and Shelly Carter (Company 5 image)

 Former Volunteer Company 5 District Chief David Dowdy explained the process that transformed the forty-year-old station built to accommodate a volunteer fire-rescue organization, including the fund raising vital to its survival—into a modern state of the art facility. It began five years ago, said Dowdy, when Company 5 officers sat down with architect Steve Childrey to discuss their vision for an updated station to serve the community well into the future. Childrey, recalled Dowdy, put tracing paper over a plan of the existing building and drew a crude sketch that became the foundation for the renovations.

Goochland Fire-Rescue is a combination agency, where career staff and volunteers work side by side. Because the career staff is at the station 24/7, it is their work home. Dowdy said that as with a home where the kitchen is its heart, the kitchen of the new Company 5 was moved to the center of the building.

The kitchen is the heart of the new Company 5

During the Covid shutdown that delayed renovations to Company 5, the Board of Directors of the Goochland Volunteer Fire-Rescue Association, which owns five of the county’s six stations, realized that stations in Manakin and Centerville also needed to be updated to accommodate the new realities of career staff. The Association hired an executive Director, Martin Dean, who is also a Manakin volunteer, to oversee the renovations. 

Bunk Room

The most important element in emergency response is the people who save lives and protect property. Public safety is dangerous work, but carcinogens from unfiltered diesel exhaust pose a greater threat than emergency operations.

Modern fire-rescue stations need sleeping quarters and shower facilities for round-the-clock providers. In stations of old, bunker gear was hung on hooks on the walls of equipment bays until needed absorbing deadly diesel exhaust.

The new Company 5 has a hot zone where bunker gear can be stored and cleaned; negative air pressure in living quarters that keeps exhaust in the equipment bays. There are bunk rooms, bathrooms with showers, a day room, gym, and offices for both career and volunteer officers.

Clear glass bay doors showcase the apparatus, including fire engines, tankers—in much of Goochland all water needed to fight a fire must be transported to the scene—ambulances, a ladder truck, and a boat for water rescue. Columns at the new entrance pay homage to our historic courthouse.

Company 5 evolved from humble beginnings in 1958. Carter, who became a fire-rescue volunteer in 1964, recalled that it began with a single fire truck parked in the open, because there was no station. In 1966, a new fire truck, which cost about $18k was purchased and paid for by the volunteers. “Back then, if you wanted something, you had to pay for it,” recalled Carter. When rescue squads were established in 1966, Luck Stone bought the county’s first ambulance for Company 1 and the Chamber of Commerce helped Company 5 buy theirs.

The first Company 5 was located on River Road West next to the Post Office where the gun shop is now. A basement was used for bingo, an important source of revenue for Company 5. As the Company added equipment, the need for a larger station became clear.

The current station was built about 40 years ago, literally by the volunteers with a lot of help from the community and local businesses. Carter cosigned the note on the building, putting his personal finances at stake to ensure that this community resource came into being. Company 5 negotiated with the county for the current site, which had been used for the county fair, horse races, and as a go kart track.

That building was planned to have enough space to house apparatus in an easy to deploy configuration, a community meeting space because there was none in Courthouse Village, and a place for fund raising activities to pay for the building.

The technology of emergency response has come a long way since Carter first joined Company 5 as a teenager. Back then, there were no radios to guide firefighters to emergency scenes. Called on their home telephones, firefighters drove to their stations and climbed on the trucks. Carter recalled being told in his early days as a firefighter after asking where the fire was, to “follow the smoke.”

“We did not have the nice toys we have today,” Carter said referencing the complexity and cost—ladder trucks cost north of $1.5 million—of emergency apparatus. “There is no way that the companies could operate today the way they did years ago. Without the support of the county, we could not function.”

Carter thanked former Chiefs of the Department Earl and Howard Henley who laid the foundation for the organization. “They told us you’ve got to know who you are and where you’re going. We all grew up in fire-rescue and grew a lot of folks who are chiefs outside the county.”

Tones sounded during the festivities, a reminder of the important function of the building. The duty crew gathered their gear, climbed into an ambulance, engaged its siren, and drove off to render aid.

Carter was taken by surprise when he learned that the station was dedicated to him in honor of his 60 years of tireless and dedicated service, holding every office from firefighter to chief of the department.

“Sixty years is a long time,” he said, thanking his family, especially wife Jo Anne; daughter Shelly, who volunteered at Company 5 for ten years; the extended Carter clan, many of whom were in the audience; and his fellow fire-rescue members, a special kind of family. “I could have spent hours talking about all the things we did, some not right, most right, like this,” he gestured as the renovated building. “It’s not a one-person operation, everyone has to help, chip in and pull their weight. I’m a lifetime member but I help when I can.” He referred those who came after him like Dowdy and current Chief of the Department D. E. “Eddie” Ferguson, Jr., who continue the work into the future.

JoAnne Carter, who was presented with a bouquet, said that she and Tommy have been married for 55 years, so she has been through a lot with him. The importance of family support that made it possible for volunteers to give so freely of their time and talents to respond to calls, train, and raise money to fund the organization cannot be overstated.

Captain Greg Jones, who joined Company 5 as a teenager and progressed to a career in Med Flight, the Virginia State Police air ambulance service, marveled at the amount of time volunteers spent working on and overseeing construction of the new building in addition to training, responding to emergencies, and  raising money. “They all had jobs and families yet found the time to be here a lot because they knew how important Company 5 was to the community..”

Jones said that Carter was to him, and many other young volunteers, a mentor, father figure, and supportive of their success. Carter’s skill in management practices, communication, and fund raising savvy inspired others to help Company 5 evolve into the excellent public safety agency it is today. Fund raising, including gun raffles and regular bingo nights, were also required of all volunteers.

Tommy Carter (shoulder patch) telling stories

Before the ceremonial “ribbon” cutting, fire line tape was substituted, Ferguson explained that over the past few years, his department has been learning about building and renovating fire stations.  He thanked the Board of Supervisors and County Administrator for their support, the especially monetary in the form of about $3 million in loans, to make the station renovations possible. “We all pulled together and got it done,” said Ferguson. “Over the last 15 years our organization has moved from an all-volunteer agency to a well-respected combination department. We will be forever grateful to Chief Carter for his leadership and accomplishments.”

Ribbon Cutting (Company 5 image)

The work of Carter and his fellow pioneering volunteers goes on. Nelson, like Carter, joined fire-rescue as a teenager and continues to donate her time and talents to provide a vital community service.

Goochland has been blessed with people like Tommy Carter, those who came before him, and those who came after to “follow the smoke” to save lives and protect property in our county.

The companies still need financial support from the community. On December 21, from 8-10 a.m. Company 5 will hold a free Santa Pancake breakfast, on a dine in or drive thru basis. Kids can deliver their wish lists directly to Santa and have their picture taken with the Jolly Elf, at 2710 Fairground Road, Goochland, VA 23063.

To learn more about becoming a Fire- Rescue volunteer, go to https://goochlandfire-rescue.org/recruitment/join/ and be sure to attend the 2024 Fire-Rescue Show tonight, October 12 at Goochland High School https://goochlandfire-rescue.org/event/2024-fire-rescue-show/.