Firefighters retire after long, distinguished careers with HFD

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December 29, 2001

Firefighters retire after long, distinguished careers with HFD

By Amy Westerman/Staff Writer

When E.J. Hinson joined the Huntsville Fire Department, he was the

youngest of 25 firefighters.

After 44 years and three months, Hinson may be one of the few people in

Huntsville who can still recall the all names of the men in photos hanging in

the fire station.

" He can name every one of them, " said Tom Grisham, Huntsville fire chief

and Hinson's stepson. " It just amazes me. A piece of the history of the fire

department is leaving with him. "

The fire department will lose Hinson and his colleague Ray Thrasher before

Jan. 1, 2002. Thrasher retired Nov. 1 and Hinson will retire Monday. During

Hinson's years of service, the department grew from 25 volunteer firefighters to

42 firefighters, including paid and volunteer members.

Even fires have changed between the late 1950s and the present.

" Way back then, you didn't have all the plastics, " Hinson said. In

addition to dangers from smoke and heat, another hazard firefighters must face

is toxic fumes from burning plastic materials.

Hinson credits Will Goodrow, who retired as fire chief in 1963, for

getting him involved in the fire department.

" We used to go to conventions and take part in pumping activities, six-man

and three-man teams, " Goodrow said, referring to events in which teams compete

to see who can get a hose to a water source and move it a given distance the

fastest.

" We very seldom came home without a load of trophies, " Goodrow said.

Hinson ran the hose out from the truck on the pumper team during those

competitions.

In order to get into the fire department, candidates participated in fire

fighting and fire drills, as long as they didn't interfere with the

firefighters, Goodrow said. This allowed the firefighters to screen out people

who only wanted glory and also allowed the applicants to decide if they really

wanted to take on the responsibility.

" You want to do it and then you get into it and then it's something

different, " Goodrow said.

When he joined the fire department 44 years ago, the fire department had a

" white ball, black ball " system, Hinson said. Firefighters voted on applicants

by passing around a box and placing a black or white ball inside. If applicants

received three black balls, they were turned down.

Hinson said he tried a few times before the existing members of the fire

department voted him in. He said he attended drills to show the firefighters how

well he could do the work.

" I proved I could do it, " he said.

Hinson said he'll miss working for the fire department - even waking in

the middle of the night to the sound of a fire alarm.

" You hear [the alarm], " Hinson said. " And you get up and gone. "

Both of Hinson's stepsons, Larry and Tom Grisham, the fire chief, worked

for the fire department. Larry Grisham left the department in 1985, after more

than 10 years of service, said Tom Grisham.

Tom Grisham said he credited Hinson with getting him interested in fire

fighting.

" Every once in a while, I'd catch a call with him, " Grisham said. " He was

an inspiration all along. "

After retirement, Hinson said he plans to work on his farm, where he has

some cattle and a few dogs.

Hinson isn't the only departing member of the fire department: Ray

Thrasher retired Nov. 11, after 17 years of fighting fires.

" I'll miss my friends, mostly - being around them all the time, " he said.

Thrasher said he became a firefighter to give back to the community.

" I always wanted to help out and this was one way I could help people, "

Thrasher said.

He said the department has improved during his 17 years in the department,

as the fire chiefs instituted more regulations and the department acquired more

equipment.

" It's improved, " Thrasher said, who was a fire department safety officer.

" It's improved a lot. I loved the new trucks. "

Thrasher said he planned to spend time with his family, travel and go

fishing a little more in his retirement.

Fighting fires requires qualities and a commitment that not everyone

shares, Thrasher said.

" It takes a special breed of person or a type of person who would want to

get out there and go into a burning building, " he said.

Grisham, who was the second fire chief Thrasher served under, said he

thought Thrasher was an excellent firefighter.

In a job where confidence in a colleague's performance is paramount,

Grisham said he knew he could always depend on Thrasher completely.

" He was a good inside fire fighting fireman, " Grisham said. " I didn't mind

for him to be next to me in any house fire. "

Grisham said the nature of fire fighting encourages a strong bond of

solidarity among firefighters.

" Ray was one of those guys, " Grisham said. " You could trust him - he was a

good team player. "

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