Jeffersonville firefighter retiring after more than 35 years

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP) - When he was 3 or 4 years old, Jeffersonville Fire Capt. Marty Stengel said he was afraid of fire trucks. The lights and sirens of the big vehicles would send him into screams, and he would hold his ears.

"My mom tells me to this day, 'that's the last profession I thought you'd have,'" Stengel joked.

But that all changed when he was a little older, and his father, John, took him to the station to see them up close - a day that would change the course of his life.

On Sunday, Stengel will retire from the department after more than 35 years of service - four decades of irreplaceable memories as he worked alongside other firefighters to keep Jeffersonville safe.

Being a firefighter isn't easy - it means 24-hour shifts living at the station, waiting to be called upon by a signal that takes them into dangerous situations to save lives and property. It's not easy, but Stengel wouldn't change his path for the world.

"When you're in here with your guys and you've got a great crew and you train together, when the buzzer goes off, you're going to work," he said. "They know what I'm doing and I know what they're doing - that's what makes this place fly."

Through the years, he's seen a lot, though not all of it easy to think about. What stand out as shining moments are the chances he was able to help - to save a life, to inspire children in the community and to impart all he's learned to his other firefighters coming up.

"The best thing about this is helping people," he said. "When a person comes up to you and hugs you, you know you've done good.

"The bad thing about our job is normally when somebody calls us, they need us. And if we're running, somebody is losing something. It might be a life, it might be a house."

And he was dedicated to learning his profession and being the best firefighter he could be.

"You kind of learned as you went," he said. "Older guys taught me a lot of stuff - I would listen, and learned."

A NERVOUS NEWBIE

Stengel recalls early on, sitting in the firehouse, practicing getting into the jump seat and putting his air pack on as quickly as possible. He did that routine over and over, so he'd be ready.

"You've got to get in there, get your arms in the pack and all," he said. "I practiced that for like a week."

Then there was a real run - a big structure fire at the industrial park. But when it came time to put on the pack, Stengel was frantic that he couldn't find the knob to turn it on, located in the back at the bottom.

"When I got out, I slung that thing around because I was excited, my heart was beating (fast)," he said. Stengel asked the sergeant who was driving for help.

"He busted out laughing," Stengel said. "He said 'you've got your pack upside down.' So I was famous for that. I put my pack on upside down."

Over the years, a lot has changed with how firefighting is done, including more thorough training and improved safety equipment.

"When we went into a fire, you pretty much found the fire by which ear was hottest and that's the way you would go," he said. "When we go out now we have full protection, hoods ... the safety, the training, all of those things have really been a big boost for the firefighters."

Something else he's see change over the years is the incidents of drug runs - administering naloxone to people experiencing an opioid overdose.

"It's beyond the point where we're actually helping people," he said. "I've seen kids that don't have a clue what life is about and they're laying on the ground breathing once a minute when you should be breathing 20 times a minute.

"That part I'm not going to miss."

LEARNING WITH EXPERIENCE

Firefighting too is an accumulation of knowledge and experience - studying the books is important but that on the job knowledge can't be matched. Just as Stengel listened and learned from those who came before him, so is he now imparting what he knows to the younger ones.

"The difference between somebody like me and a book, I've actually done it, most things," Stengel said. "When I tell you this has happened, I watched it.

"These guys, they haven't seen it. But someday, they're going to get into a situation and say 'I remember Captain Stengel told me that.'"

And luckily, Stengel has been there during the recent growth of the department, something Justin Ames said is important. He worked under him on his crew for two years and has attended a lot of his training sessions.

"Every class I've taken, I've gotten something out of; there's always something that you're going to learn," Ames said.

"I've always been big on respecting people that have paved the way. And if there's a face to it, I would think it's Marty."

And his current crew agrees - they don't want him to go, but Stengel said it's about time.

"They asked me 'you sure you don't want to stay?'" Stengel said. I used to take a couple fires a day it didn't bother me; now one fire a day takes me about three days to get over. It's time for me to go."

PASSING ALONG KNOWLEDGE

Jeffersonville Fire Sgt. Josh Thompson said his experience with Stengel has been invaluable.

"The biggest thing I've taken away from him is to get up and be ready to go for anything," he said. "That perseverance of 'you're here to do a job and we're going to do it.'"

"It's been a pleasure to get to know him as a person, as a captain and try to learn from him."

Lt. Chad Ogden agreed.

"He's been here for 35 years so there's not much he hasn't seen or done," Ogden said. "He just has so much (knowledge) to give and he's willing to give to everybody."

Stengel said he will miss his second family - but he won't be far. He'll be heading up a program the department has in the works to keep retired firefighters close - they'll remain a part of the crew and still be able to teach the younger ones.

"It's just the way it works," Ames said of firefighting. "The older teaches the younger and the olders move on and the youngers move up and now they're older guys. And there will be another (go) behind them It's just a big circle that comes around."

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Source: News and Tribune

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Information from: News and Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind., http://www.newsandtribune.com