THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 6, 1995 TAG: 9507040102
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SHIRLEY BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER SUFFOLK
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
WILLIAM E. ``Billy'' Moore was working as an automobile mechanic when a persistent friend urged him to join the Suffolk Fire Department.
``I'd be working out in the hot or cold weather,'' Moore said. ``He'd say, `We stayed in the house all day today'.''
One particularly hot day, Moore's friend happened by at the right moment. He reminded Moore that he had been inside all day.
``I went down the next morning to talk to Chief Sammy Carter and was hired on the spot,'' he said. He was assigned to Engine 1.
That was in 1971. Moore soon enough realized that working as a firefighter was also, at times, an ``outside'' job. And a good night's sleep was never guaranteed.
``At 2 a.m., when a call comes in and you hit the floor, you've got to be awake enough to handle equipment and know where you're going,'' Moore said. ``When I'm on duty, I never sleep well because you never know when a call is coming in.''
Since 1975, Moore has been a designated driver and pump operator at Station Number 1 on Market Street.
``It's my job to get the truck on the scene and keep water going to the firefighters,'' he said. ``I've got to know where the fire hydrants and water supplies are, and I've got to know all Suffolk streets.''
Due to his dedication and years of service, Fire Engineer Moore recently received two awards. He was named ``Fire Fighter of the Quarter'' and honored at a recent City Council meeting as Suffolk's ``Employee of the Quarter.''
``When there is anything administration or his peers ask of him, Billy is always ready to jump in and take the lead,'' said Chief Mark Outlaw. ``That's what makes him so special to the fire service. He's done that from day one to the present. One of his many talents is his mechanical ability. He still maintains some of our equipment, as well as fire apparatus.''
``He's also like the master chef of the fire department,'' he continued. ``Anytime we have a special function, he does the cooking. That's his greatest talent that we appreciate. Fried chicken is probably his number one dish.''
A native of Norfolk, Moore's family moved to a farm in Suffolk in 1938. Moore and his wife, Mollie, later built a house near his old homeplace.
As a boy, Moore attended a two-room schoolhouse and helped on the family farm. To earn spending money, he chopped peanuts on a neighboring farm for 50 cents an hour.
Moore's father, who owned a country store, was robbed and seriously injured in 1948. Only 10 years old at the time, Moore worked with his brother, 14, to operate the store.
At 16, Moore was hired as a helper at Blair Motor Company, where he waxed cars and learned to repair automobiles. He was employed as a mechanic in both Franklin and Suffolk before joining the fire service.
In the past 24 years, Moore has seen many changes at the fire department.
``At first, I was at the fire station more than at home,'' he said. ``Now, most firefighters work another job.''
Moore works 56 hours at the fire department and 30 hours weekly driving a truck and doing maintenance work at the Griffin Oil Company.
``I had on-the-job training, but now firefighters have to attend 14 weeks of training at the fire academy in Chesapeake,'' Moore said. ``When I started, you had to have first aid, but gradually we've gotten into it deeper and deeper. We stay in training all the time and run a lot of EMS calls now. The public thinks we drink coffee and play cards all day, but we're always cleaning equipment or repairing hose.''
In Moore's opinion, fires involving peanuts are the most difficult to extinguish. In 1972, when Moore's daughter, Elizabeth, was only a month old, he left home to buy groceries and decided to stop by the fire station.
``Gold Kist Peanut Company caught on fire,'' he said. ``A call came in and I didn't get home for three days. We stood with hose lines and watched for hot spots. . . .''
Although Moore will be eligible for retirement next year, his plans for the future are indefinite.
``I've thought about opening a place with plain ol' country cooking,'' he said, ``and I've just started playing golf. But the biggest thing I do is work. I enjoy it . . . I've worked all my life.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Billy Moore has been with the Suffolk Fire Department since 1971.
by CNB