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Hometown Hero: Choosing a life of service Story by Hilary Andrews Rick Stapleton 42 years old Engineer with the Conway Fire Department Husband to Rita Stapleton, father of Katlyn and Carter
14 WINC. | November 2019
Q: What initially drove you to this career? Stapleton: I’ve always just kind of had a heart for people, to try to help on some level. I wasn’t the guy who grew up knowing I was going to be a firefighter. I actually worked for Conway Corporation for about eight years before I worked for CFD. I knew about 2001 this is what I wanted to do. Started the testing process … it took me three years before I got hired on. It’s been really good. Q: You said around 2001, did 9/11 have any type of impact? Stapleton: It had a pretty big impact on a lot of that. I knew the military wasn’t the career path for me at that point in time, but I knew I wanted to do something on a bigger scale. CFD was definitely my route to take at that point. Q: Talking about that switch from Conway Corp to CFD, is it everything you thought it would be? Stapleton: It really is. In some aspects, it’s harder. Q: What do you do everyday? When you arrive on shift, what does that process look like? Stapleton: Our day starts at 7 o’clock. They do roll call every morning, make sure everybody’s where they’re supposed to be. We like to get here probably around 6:30 a.m to talk to all these guys (prior shift) to find out what they did the day before, is anything