New firefighters join squad

By Andy Brown

Published: August 25, 2008

Willie Sider hasn’t been a firefighter long, but he’s already heard the same question time and again.

“I’ve had a lot of people ask me why I would want to run into a burning building that everyone else is running out of,” Sider said with a laugh. “I’ve heard that a lot already. I tell them I’m a little nuts.”

Sider and Josh Kendall are the two newest firefighters at the Eufaula Fire Department. The pair completed Firefighter I basic training Aug. 14. Sider received the graduating class’s honor graduate award, which is given to the graduate that receives the highest marks in the program’s physical, technical and academic training.

The course lasted 14 weeks and included 5 weeks of emergency medical technician training and 9 weeks of training in areas such fire department communications, building construction, ropes and knots, loss control, fire behavior, personal protective equipment, ladders, ventilation, forcible entry, water supply, portable extinguishers, fire hoses, rescue and extrication, sprinkler and alarm systems, fire streams and foam streams, fire control, hazardous materials, protecting evidence, fire prevention and public education.

“It’s not easy,” Kendall said of the program.

“Just the length of the training makes it tough. By the 10th week you’re starting to get burnt out, but it was worth it.”

For the firefighters the end of the training signaled a new beginning.

“This is something I’ve always been interested in, but it took me a while to get up the courage to get into it,” Sider said. “I had friends that were firefighters and after hearing all their cool stories I just decided to go for it.”

Side had previously worked in the heating and air conditioning business, as an electrician and in computer-aided drafting.

“It took me a while to find something I really liked,” he said with a grin. “Now I plan to make a career of it.”

Kendall had been interested in becoming a firefighter since his senior year in high school.

“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” he said. “I want to be able to help people.”

Both are excited to be members of the EFD and plan to continue their training at the Alabama Fire College in Tuscaloosa.

“There are still a number of things I need to learn,” Sider said. “There’s so much out there and I want to get as many certifications as I can and make a great career out of this.”