THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 21, 1995 TAG: 9509180257
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI LEWIS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
MAPLE HALL residents may rest a little easier knowing that letter carrier Robin Slone is on the job.
Slone, who has served the Maple Hall area for five of the 10-plus years that he has been with the U.S. Postal Service, went above and beyond of the call of duty for one house on his route last month.
In fact, his actions were more like those of a firefighter than a letter carrier.
About 2 p.m. on Aug. 30, after just finishing a break in the area, Slone was driving down the 1100 block of Winburne Lane when he noticed that a house was on fire.
``You could see the flames shooting out of the back of the house,'' Slone said.
With the house's occupants nowhere to be found, Slone ran to a neighboring house and asked the residents to call the fire department. Slone then went back to the house to try to put the fire out.
Finding a water hose in the back yard, Slone started spraying the flames. He said he watered down the house and the flames until ``the wind changed and the smoke started coming my way.''
It was then, he said, that he figured that he couldn't do any more to help.
Luckily, it was at about that time that the fire department arrived.
Although he is modest about his part in slowing the blaze, Slone is credited by retired firefighter Donald Dietrick, who lives in the neighborhood, with helping to save the house from total destruction.
``God just had me in the right spot,'' Slone said.
Slone was so modest about his actions that he didn't even tell his supervisor or co-workers what he had done when he returned to the Thomas Corner Station where he works.
It was Dietrick who called the station to tell Slone's supervisors of his heroic deed.
In addition to the praise, Slone said he was teased by comments such as ``I didn't know you moonlighted as a fireman.''
Slone said that he has gotten to know a lot of the retired folks in Maple Hall. The younger residents, he said, are away at work while he's doing his job.
Originally from Texas, Slone was stationed in Norfolk on the Nimitz while he was in the Navy and decided to stay in Hampton Roads after his enlistment was up. One of the reasons was his wife, Jackie, who is from the area. They were married six months before he got out of the service.
They now live in the Camelot section of Chesapeake with their two children, son Adrian, 10, and daughter, Chela, 7.
In addition to the Navy, Slone served in the Air Force for four years as a vehicle body repairman. This is the first time that something like this has happened to him since he became a letter carrier, but he said he would not hesitate to get involved again if the situation called for it.
``If I see something that's not normal,'' he said, ``I'll try to help out.'' MEMO: If you know someone whom you feel is deserving of a Thumbs Up! feature,
call Vicki Lewis at 446-2286. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by RICHARD L. DUNSTON
Robin Slone has served Maple Hall for five of the 10-plus years that
he has been with the Postal Service.
by CNB