A Bartholomew County volunteer firefighter has been honored for 50 years of service to the community.
Edward “Ed” Stone, long associated with the Clifford Volunteer Fire Department, received special recognition last week during the monthly meeting of the Indiana Volunteer Fire Department Association’s District 10.
The 75-year-old Stone was presented with the Meritorious Service Award, issued through the Indiana State Fire Marshal’s office, as well as a pin and a gold lifetime membership card from the association.
50+ club
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Stone, who served as Clifford fire chief from 1984 to 2010, has become part of a little-known, but well-respected group of individuals with a half-century of firefighting experience.
Retired Elizabethtown businessman Ivan Shinolt is considered by many of his peers as the longest-serving firefighter in Bartholomew County. Shinolt said he was 14 when he began to fight fires in his hometown 62 years ago.
There’s also former Hartsville Fire Chief John Ray, who made last week’s presentations to Stone in his capacity as the Indiana Volunteer Fire Department Association’s district chairman. At age 75, Ray has 55 years experience.
That’s the same amount of time as Ed Johnson, 76, another retired Hartsville fire chief, who today serves as a member of the Hope Town Council.
And finally, there’s the honoree’s twin brother, Edwin Stone of Hope, who has been a volunteer firefighter a few years longer than his sibling, Edward Stone said.
As he reflected on his past, Ed Stone fondly recalled another brother who became both a reserve police officer and a volunteer firefighter in 1962.
If the fates would have been kinder, Larry W. Stone would also be in the 50+ Club. He died in 1988 after a lengthy illness at the age of 48.
Worthy of honor
Any person who protects lives and property for a half-century without compensation deserves respect and recognition, Ray said.
But by proving himself to be a dedicated community servant in a variety of ways, Ray says he feels Ed Stone is worthy of a little extra recognition.
“(Stone) has seen his department go from one or two pieces of equipment into what it is today,” Ray said. “He’s done much for Clifford and the entire area.”
One of Stone’s accomplishments that has benefited all area volunteer fire departments was establishing standards public relations, Johnson said.
“He showed us how that gives your department a good name and creates public support,” Johnson said. “We didn’t have a lot of that when we started.”
Looking back
Most of these veterans in the 50+ club came from farm families who understood the need to band together for their mutual protection, Ray said.
When most of them started in the 1960s, volunteer firefighters did not have the life-saving equipment and apparatus that is required today, Stone said.
What was issued to most volunteers at that time was a vinyl long coat, rubber boots, orange rubber gloves and a plastic fire helmet, according to a 2008 article on the Fire Engineering.com website.
Johnson said he remembers how rural departments used to convert old farm trucks into fire trucks, or create fire-fighting equipment from whatever materials they had available.
But Stone does recall unique training he and others received from the founder and first fire chief of the Clifford Volunteer Fire Department, Harold Capper (1925-2010).
After making his volunteers memorize where all the levers were on a fire engine, Capper would order each of them to find those levers blindfolded — just in case the wind suddenly shifted and blinded them with smoke, Stone said.
It wasn’t until 1982 that the National Fire Protection Association developed a standard for personal alert safety system devices. Later in that same decade, advanced fire-resistant materials were introduced for coats and pants.
What worries many older firefighters is the realization they may have exposed themselves to carcinogens in their youth that could still cause cancer today, Johnson said.
On Christmas Eve 1988, Stone had what he calls his worst experience as a firefighter.
High winds and exceptionally frigid temperatures resulted in six different fire runs in northeast Bartholomew County. Equipment began to either freeze up, malfunction or get stuck en route to a call, Stone said. He remembers watching a strong wind ravaging flames quickly through a house, while he and others were helpless to stop it.
Today
One event — the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 — prompted the most profound changes and requirements for all firefighters, Johnson said.
After 9/11, fire service became all-hazards response, rather than just firefighting, which is the basis of modern emergency management practice, according to multiple firefighting sources.
A volunteer firefighter today has to put in a minimum of 40 hours training before he or she is allowed to set foot on a fire scene — and between 60 to 100 hours before the trainee is considered a firefighter, Ray said.
“It’s almost as if you need a degree in fire science to be on the fire truck anymore,” Johnson said.
While some required classes can take up to 12 weeks to complete, Ray said the good news is that some training that was once only available out-of-state is now being offered locally.
But since rural volunteer departments have fewer members, they have had to become reliant on each other for mutual aid, Ray said.
As a result, volunteer firefighters who used to be called to a dozen or so calls annually today may be asked to respond to close to 200 calls, Johnson said.
With all the time, money and risk-taking involved, several firefighters explained they committed to volunteering for so long of a time.
“It’s something inside you that makes you want to help other people,” Ray said. “It’s also about having pride in the community and the department.”
“You have to be a caring person who wants to see a better community and protect others,” Johnson said.
Since most of Stone’s time over the past year has been dedicated to caring for ailing family members, he was unable to take the training that would have kept his status active on the Clifford Volunteer Fire Department.
Nevertheless, Stone said he has spent a lot of time over the past month helping a neighbor take inventory to replace items damaged in a mid-October garage fire.
It’s not hard for Stone to explain what he enjoyed most about his half-century as a volunteer firefighter.
“Getting a ‘thank you’ every once in a while, and knowing my neighbors appreciate what I do,” Stone said.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Ed Stone ” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Age: 75
Education: Hauser High School, Class of 1961.
Employer: Cummins Engine Co. 1962-1992.
Community: Clifford Fire Chief, 1984-2010. Member of the Clifford Town Council since 2007. Member of Masonic Lodge 150 in Hope.
Wife: Marcia. Two adult children.
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