Va. Volunteer Recalls Five Decades of Service
Dec. 28--DINWIDDIE -- They call him the magic man.
The night that the air conditioning compressor broke loose from a fire engine as firefighters were battling a brush fire, Dennis Hale, chief of Dinwiddie Fire and EMS, began adding up the numbers in his head.
"I said, 'OK Ron, how much is a new fire engine going to cost me,' " Hale said.
But Ron Erb, chief of the Namozine Volunteer Fire Department, had good news for Hale. The engine had already been hauled back to the Magic Man's garage, where mechanical parts long ago replaced cars.
"There is not a piece of fire equipment in a fire station in this county today that he has not built, made better or fixed," Hale said.
William "Bill" Queen can't remember the exact date that his fellow firefighters gave him the nickname.
But he can look around the Namozine Volunteer Fire Department and recall the engines he built in his garage, the station parts he repaired and the stories that have colored his more than 50 years as a volunteer firefighter at the Namozine Volunteer Fire Department.
In comparison to past repairs, the broken air compressor was an easy fix.
"I tied it with nylon tie wraps until we could get it back to the garage, then I added strength to the brackets. And it hasn't happened again since," Queen said. "I'm kind of mechanically inclined. I like stuff, and I like working on it."
Queen joined the fire department when he was 20 years old in October 1962, before there were breathing apparatus or books of rules.
"It was interesting in the beginning," Queen said, remembering his first uniform that exposed parts of his face and legs.
The years have faded together, but some numbers still stick out in his mind. There is the address of one of the first calls that he and other firefighters responded to. It was a house fire, but the structure and people were saved. Occasionally, Queen will pass by the house on a drive and remember.
"It is a good feeling, to know that you have helped someone," Queen said.
Then there is the date of a fire in Petersburg that leveled a building and killed a firefighter.
In between 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. shifts at the station, Queen worked as a welder at local companies before opening his own welding business.
"There have been times that I have put the fire department in front of family. But that was usually when something was broken and something had to be fixed so we could fight the next fire," Queen said. "And I felt bad about that sometimes, but there was nobody else here that could do what I had to do."
Erb, who has served at the Namozine station for 44 years, said it is not unusual for something to break every week. He has spent his fair share of time in Queen's garage, rebuilding engines, pipes and motors. Friends encouraged the two to rename Queen's garage "Queen's, Erb's Refurb."
"He is so skilled at making things. I come with ideas to put something on a truck, and the next thing I know, he had it. As far as welding and that kind of thing, he is amazing," Erb added.
Over the years, both Erb and Queen worked their way up through the ranks, from firefighter to fire chief.
"Bill is just one of those guys that everybody likes. He doesn't like to hurt anybody's feelings," Erb said.
When not in the station, the two would fish on weekends.
"We have known each other for such a long time," he said. "We do just about everything together."
Flipping through the photo albums at the station, Queen points at the faces that have passed in and out of the station's doors and the accidents and fires that the firefighters have responded to. In recent years, the number of volunteers have begun to dwindle, Queen said.
"I don't know of anybody else that has done that," Queen said of his 50-plus years of service.
But the 70-year-old isn't done yet. Even though he recently announced his retirement, Queen still plans to make appearances at his second home to see his second family. He also still plans to train the newer volunteers.
"I'll never quit," Queen said. "I'll still piddle in my garage. As long as I'm physically able to put my foot out the door, then I'm going to do that."
- Vanessa Remmers may be reached at 804-722-5155 or vremmers@progress-index.com.
Copyright 2013 - The Progress-Index, Petersburg, Va.
