By Jolene Farley
After 30 years on the Hills Fire Department, Fire Chief Alan Top will hang up his helmet. Top retires as fire chief in November, but plans to remain among the ranks of the firefighters until next year.
Top shared thoughts on what motivated him when he joined the fire department at 24 years old in 1972.
"Every kid wants to be a fireman, right?" he said "The excitement, the adrenaline rush. The guys on the department - we're a pretty tight knit group."
Top said the frequency of fire calls has decreased since he joined the fire department.
"I don't know if it's that people are more aware of fire prevention or what it is," he said.
With 25 men currently on the Hills Fire Department and 12 men on the First Responders, Top said the department could use a few more volunteers.
An ongoing problem for many departments is a lack of volunteers during daytime hours.
The Hills Fire Department welcomed six new volunteers this spring. The volunteers completed 150 hours of firefighter training and also attended First Responder training.
Top is thankful equipment and training has improved during his years as a firefighter.
"When I first joined we had a small pumper and tanker and a very minimal rescue truck," he said. He added that a state instructor would come to Hills for only one evening a year to train the firefighters.
The department now has a fire hall, two pumper trucks, a tanker, a rescue truck and a grass fire rig, and firefighters are offered many hours of education.
"People have been real supportive for a small community," he said. "The equipment we have is very good. We are very appreciative of that."
Top said rescue calls are tougher than fire calls because when the pager goes off, they know someone is hurt.
"You always think the worst," he said. "Most of the time you get there and it's not the worst. A lot of times people just need to be calmed down."
But the calls when that isn't the case are difficult. A look of sadness passes over Top's face as he remembers an incident 25 years ago when two people were killed in a train wreck. "It was ugly," was all he said.
"You know every call you go to, you know the people," he said. "You deal with their sadness. You hurt for the people, because you know most of them. Those are the kind of calls you go home and you donÕt sleep for the rest of the night."
One evening on a happier call about 20 years ago, fire department volunteers delivered a baby west of Hills. Two women were passing through the area, and one of them went into labor. After the delivery, the fire department had a baby quilt made with Hills Fire Department stitched on it and "delivered" to the hospital.
No Hills firefighters have been killed or seriously injured in the line of duty, but Top and his fellow firefighters sympathize with the New York firefighters who lost their lives on Sept. 11 during the terrorist attacks.
"We felt like the rest of America," he said. "You felt for the families, even the families that weren't firefighters."
Top hopes he made the fire department a fun, friendly place under his leadership.
"I think someone else that's younger could do a better job now," said Top. "It's harder and harder to get up in the middle of the night."
He went on to tell a story of how he and another fireman used to be the first people at the fire hall after a fire call.
He told his friend. "It must be a sign of age, we're not as fast as we used to be at getting to the fire hall. We're getting beat out."
Top said it is time to let some of the younger members of the department who are full of enthusiasm and new ideas take over the department. "It's time to turn it over and let them go."
"It's going to be hard. What's really going to be tough is when I hear a fire siren. It's going to be hard for me not to be a Looky-Lou, wanting to go out there and run the show."
Top will always carry with him the deep friendships he developed with his fellow firefighters.
"You are counting on the guy behind you and in front of you all the time," he said. "I want to make sure the guy behind me knows what he's doing. He could save my life or I could save his life. I think it comes out in the friendships."
Top speaks fondly of his fire fighting years overall.
"It's been a pleasure. It's the greatest organization I've ever belonged to. I would recommend it to anyone," he said.
"It is some of the hardest work ever done with the most gratification you'll ever have."