ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 4, 1996 TAG: 9608050076
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRISTINA NUCKOLS STAFF WRITER
ROANOKE COUNTY'S Tommy Fuqua is easing into retirement after 35 years of saving lives - and extinguishing ill will between professional and volunteer squad members.
Tommy Fuqua ambled down the hallway of the Roanoke County Public Safety Center past a secretary from the Police Department.
``Bye,'' she called out after his retreating figure.
Fuqua - who has held the top position in Roanoke County's fire and rescue system for 15 years - pivoted to give her his familiar, easy-going grin.
``I'm not gone yet,'' he said.
``I'm just getting used to it,'' she answered.
For those who will have a hard time imagining the Fire and Rescue Department minus Chief Fuqua, he's giving them nine months to adjust. Although Wednesday was his last day as chief, the 52-year-old will stay on until May as a consultant to his successor, Richard Burch of Hanover County.
If you include his time as a volunteer rescue worker and firefighter, Fuqua has been involved with emergency services in Roanoke County for 35 years. He began as a 17-year-old volunteer with the Vinton First Aid and Rescue Squad in 1961.
``If you'd have told me in 1961, `You'll retire at the age of 53,' I'd have told you, `You're crazy,''' he said. ``But I see younger people with new ideas, and I'm willing to step aside and let them carry the flag.''
It's not uncommon for young volunteers to view their first serious emergency call as a test. That certainly was the case for Fuqua, who arrived at a collision between a train and an automobile to find that the victims in the car were classmates of his at William Byrd High School, including a fellow member of the football team.
Although he was shaken when one friend died, Fuqua began to seriously consider a career in emergency work. Because most career jobs were in firefighting, he volunteered with the Vinton department in 1962 and began taking fire science courses at Virginia Western Community College.
He tried several jobs, including working for General Electric and Berglund Chevrolet, until got his first full-time firefighting position in 1971 with the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Salem. Roanoke County hired him as a career firefighter in 1977.
Even after he became a professional firefighter, Fuqua continued to serve as a volunteer. That put him in a unique position in 1981 when the county began searching for a new fire coordinator. At that point, he had been promoted to lieutenant within the department and also was volunteer chief of the Clearbrook fire company.
The county had gone through three coordinators in eight years, with the last two forced out amid discord in the the volunteers. With some volunteers questioning whether a coordinator was needed, the Board of Supervisors decided to try a different tactic, allowing the county's nine volunteer fire chiefs to choose their own. The chiefs unanimously selected Fuqua.
``He had a unique ability to work with both sides, both career and volunteer,'' said Bruce Roy, head of the firefighters union. ``He never once tried to squash the voice of the volunteer firefighter, nor did he try to squash the voice of the professional firefighters.''
One of the criticisms aimed at Fuqua's predecessor was that he wore a jacket emblazoned ``FIRE CHIEF.'' At the time, the county had station chiefs but no department head with authority over them. The coordinator merely assisted the nine chiefs in preparing their budgets and handling other administrative matters.
Fuqua's low-key demeanor eased those concerns, but the issue wasn't dead. In 1985, Elmer Hodge was hired as county administrator and announced his desire to move from a coordinator to a fire chief plan.
Fuqua said most volunteers supported the idea.
``The majority was in concurrence with doing it,'' he said. ``Any time you make changes, there's going to be resistance."
He said he was surprised when rescue squads asked to be included in the new department, given Hodge's experience in Chesterfield County, where rescue workers complained they were taken over by the Fire Department in a similar reorganization.
Fuqua officially became fire and rescue chief July 1, 1986. The transition from coordinator to decision-maker put more pressure on him, starting with the decision to use county money to buy ambulances. All ambulances at the time were bought and owned by individual rescue squads.
``The people started to feel like they were losing part of their autonomy,'' he said. ``At the start, not everybody's with you. You've got to show them that it's good.''
The creation of a chief's position was a turning point for the county's fire and rescue system. Now Fuqua believes the county has reached a new crossroads.
Two years ago, the department underwent a review of its administration and equipment needs. A committee of county residents, government officials, rescue workers and career and volunteer firefighters began considering areas for improvement.
The priorities identified last summer included:
* Setting a goal of two-minute reaction times to emergency calls - two minutes from the time the call is made until an emergency vehicle pulls out of the station.
* Forming a quality assurance team, providing sleeping quarters in all stations.
* Hiring additional part-time personnel to assist with staffing.
After those priorities were released, Fuqua announced his resignation in September. That led to speculation he was leaving out of frustration that Hodge did not support him in working toward those goals.
Fuqua dismisses that speculation. He said his announcement was made early so he could participate in the selection of his replacement and stick around for a few months as a consultant.
Career and volunteer emergency workers credit Fuqua with creating a professional fire and rescue system in the county, but they express frustration that there have been fewer gains in recent years.
Roy said Fuqua implemented top-level safety standards and made sure the county was getting the best trucks and radio equipment available.
``He continued to make it happen, then all of the sudden, just wham, we stopped,'' he said. ``He reached a point where he was beating his head against that wall.''
``I think he's moved us a long way,'' added Woody Henderson, chairman of the Volunteer Fire Chiefs Board. ``I think he's been good for the department. I think there was still some things he could have done. ... His hands were tied."
Even after he officially retires in May, Fuqua said, he'll continue as an instructor for fire schools around the state and with the Virginia Department of Emergency Services in Richmond.
Monday: Richard Burch, Roanoke County's new fire and rescue chief, can't remember a time when he did not want to be a firefighter.
LENGTH: Long : 123 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: WAYNE DEEL Staff. Tommy Fuqua became a volunteer withby CNBthe Vinton First Aid and Rescue Squad in 1961 at age 17. color.