Is Brotherhood a Thing of the Past?

by (retired) BC Jeff Sanders Spalding County Fire Department

I spent a few years at Clayton County Fire Department back in the mid 1970s assigned to Station 3 on Battlecreek Road.

It was here I realized a unique bond among the men I was serving with. Men like Julian Lovern, Keith Waller, Donald Cook, David Sapp, Raymond Fair and many others.

This unique bond wasn’t just about spending time together away from the department but was all about the “family” sense of belonging to each other, supportive and holding each other accountable and loving one another.

It was about taking care of each other and their families in tough times or showing up in a multitude of numbers to show respect for one’s death. In essence the Brotherhood has 343 meanings!

Brotherhood was once just about the men in our ranks, but over the years it now encompasses all sexes, creeds, and races.

In 1978 I joined the newly formed Spalding County Fire Department in Griffin. It was closer to my hometown of Thomaston and would provide more opportunities for advancement.

There too, it didn’t take long to realize this unique bond called the Brotherhood of the fire service.

I served this department for many years, and it soon became evident that the Brotherhood of the Fire Service was a unique and coveted fraternity that was among the ranks of many other departments across our region and beyond.

Just to be a fireman, a firefighter, an officer didn’t automatically make you a member of this fraternity.

Just because you drive or ride a million-dollar rig with flashing lights, paying lots of attention and making noise as you speed to an emergency didn’t mean you were accepted either.

In some situations, it began by letting young volunteers hang out at the station and joining in the rituals of friendly horseshoe games.

Other times it was making sure to treat everyone fairly and equally important during training and shift duties or seeking everyone’s input while sitting at the table over a cup of coffee or glass of sweet tea.

It took patience, training, char- acter, love for mankind, values, and morals as the cornerstone for the Brotherhood.

There was no glamour or ceremony when you realized you had been accepted into this coveted fraternity, but the self-feeling you were now an important part was beyond measure.

A part of you that would live on years after your retirement.

The fire service is steeped in tradition. Though the friendly horseshoe games, card games and station horse play are long gone there is no reason we should not be teaching these young men and women the importance of the Brotherhood/ Womanhood of the All-American Fire Service.

This day and age we need the Brotherhood to live on, be vibrant in this generation of firefighters and those who have earned their retirement.

We need to continue to light that fire in them, teach them and show them the way.

With the evolution of changes, so comes the evolution of people changes. A new generation of firefighters has rapidly replaced the