On a Mission for Safety

As a fireman, safety instructor and youth pastor, Captain Robert Tillman is working hard to protect children and families in our community.

BY TERI R. WILLIAMS PHOTOS BY RUTH ENGLISH

There was no warning—nothing to prepare Robert and Felicia Tillman for the stillbirth of their daughter Alicia at full term. Two more pregnancies would end in early miscarriages in the years that followed. As the years passed, every milestone not shared with their daughter was a harsh reminder of loss. Many years passed before they had processed through the grief of loss enough to talk about it with others. For Captain Robert Tillman, the path forward would lead to a life of service focused on safety for the children in our community.

Robert and Felicia met in their church youth group. In 1998, after dating for several years, the two married. For a few years, he worked as a truck driver. In 2003, Chad Ford, one of Robert’s best friends from school, suggested Robert join him in volunteering as a firefighter with the Vidalia Fire Department (VFD). “To be honest, I didn’t know enough about the work of a firefighter to think it would even interest me as a career,” said Robert.

Like most people, his only reference for the work of a firefighter was the red engine with flashing lights and a siren rushing to a fire. But as Robert went through the training to become a volunteer, he quickly realized that there was a wealth of knowledge, skill, and expertise involved. Firemen may also educate the public on safety, investigate arson, inspect buildings, or participate in search and rescue. In addition, technical rescue incidents necessitate specialized training for structural collapse, rope rescue, confined-space search and rescue, vehicle and machinery rescue, water search and rescue, wilderness search and rescue, and trench and excavation rescue.

In 2010, Robert took a full-time position with the VFD. By that time, he was also an ordained minister. Knowing this, the other firefighters jokingly put “Chaplain” on the side of his fire helmet. But Robert decided to make it official and took the required classes for his certification to become chaplain of the VFD. “I’ve been a part of the Firefighter’s Chaplain Association since 2012.”

Robert passed his Fire and Life Safety Educator certification in 2014 and began teaching educational programs on safety in schools. “We have an entire curriculum that teaches kids based on grade level,” he said. “For example, you would teach a three-year-old that if their clothes were on fire, to ‘stop, drop, and roll.’ When you get to middle school-age kids, we can talk further about the fire triangle: fuel, heat, and oxygen. Without just one of those ingredients, a fire can’t progress. And then when you get to the high school level, we go deeper into an understanding of fire and fire safety and talk about chemical reactions.”

Of course, Fire and Life Safety is not just for kids. “I teach practical things,” said Robert. “When I talk to seniors, I tell them, ‘I know you love that fuzzy bathrobe, but don’t cook in it. If it catches fire and you ‘stop, drop, and roll,’ you’re going to break a hip.” Robert smiles. “I tell them, ‘Either roll up those sleeves or put on regular clothes before you go and cook.’” After teaching a Fire and Life Safety Educator’s course in Montgomery County, one of the teachers taking the course with a two-and-a-half-year-old son implemented a safety plan for her family. When the fire alarm went off in her home, she made her way to her son's room where she found him climbing out of his window.”

Another time, a young student from JD Dickerson who had learned about fire safety from Robert and the Safe Kids Toombs team was with her grandmother when the kitchen caught on fire.

“She grabbed her Grandma and told her to get low,” said Robert. “After they crawled outside, the young girl called 911 just as she’d been taught.”

Robert’s training courses also took him into daycare facilities and senior complexes, which require a Fire and Life Safety course to operate. Even when teaching a CPR and First Aid class to potential foster parents in one of the seventeen counties he served for DFAX, Robert took time to go over fire safety.

In addition, Ms. Bonnie Brantley with Safe Kids Toombs and Surrounding Counties asked Robert to provide fire safety and CPR training at her events. Unfortunately, when Ms. Brantley retired, the program in Toombs County came to a halt. Two years later, Safe Kids of Georgia Operations Coordinator Laura Coleman approached VFD Chief Brian Sikes at the Georgia Association for Fire Chiefs (GAFC) with hopes of reestablishing the program in Toombs County. The Chief had the perfect candidate in mind to manage the program. Robert’s experience in the field and specialized educational training made him a Captain in 2015. In August of 2019, Robert also took over the position of Coalition Coordinator for Safe Kids Toombs.

“Safe Kids is a worldwide organization,” said Robert. “It helps us get grants that help provide safety equipment and injury prevention education to families in our community. We can provide the right car seat for an infant or child or fit a child with a bike helmet through these grants. We do this as a team. Safe Kids Toombs is a collaborative made up of many organizations. The care of our kids takes us all.”

According to the CDC, “Leading causes of child unintentional injury include motor vehicle crashes, suffocation, drowning, poisoning, fires, and falls,” with drowning the leading cause of unintentional death among children ages 1 to 4 years of age. (Half of those occur in small amounts of water other than pools.) “You can’t protect them from everything, but education and giving them the right safety equipment can make a huge difference,” he said. It’s a difference Robert is willing to give his heart and soul to see accomplished.

Six months after Tillman assumed management of Safe Kids Toombs, Covid struck. As the months of isolation continued, Robert and other organizations that supported Safe Kids Toombs came to a decision that no matter what, they would continue the mission. It was an idea that Safe Kids Worldwide chose to present at the Safe Kids 2021 PrevCon, “…the largest meeting in the world dedicated solely to the field of unintentional childhood injury prevention” (www. safekids.regfox.com). In a video presented at the conference, Robert is surrounded by the Safe Kids Toombs collaborative spreading the message. “I heard again and again from team members, ‘Whatever it takes, we’re here to help.’”

With that support and encouragement, Robert determined to either “find a way” or “make a way.” One solution was utilizing a mobile “Safe Kids” trailer. The trailer is used for everything from transporting car seats to unserved areas to operating as a mobile first aid station.

In 2021, with all the challenges created by Covid, Robert began training for the Georgia SPARTAN Firefighter Program in Douglas, Georgia. Only twelve are chosen to participate each year. Out of the fortyeight that applied in 2021, Robert was among them. “The class stresses physical and mental preparedness, firefighter survival, interior search and rescue, and live fire during the class” (cityofdouglas.gov).

“The goal is to push you beyond your physical means,” said Robert. “You have to rely on basic skills and muscle memory. There were minimal breaks and minimal food to eat during the short breaks. The gear you have to carry can be anywhere from an extra 60 to 80 pounds. The point is to show you that you can go further than your body tells you. The challenge is to prove that you can do more than you think you can do.” Only eleven completed the challenge. At fortyfour, Robert completed the challenge officially taking the title of Spartan #59. The Spartan Challenge was a demonstration of the courage we associate with the work of a firefighter and evidence of Robert’s commitment to persevere under pressure.

In 2019, the same year Robert took the position as Safe Kids Toombs Coalition Coordinator, he also became the Youth Pastor at his church, Becoming One Outreach. “I have three kids in heaven,” said Robert, “and twenty-seven Godchildren I serve as a youth pastor. My wife and I have more than enough love for all of our children.”

Last year marked what would have been their daughter’s sixteenth birthday. “We both processed our grief differently,” said Robert. “It took us about ten years before we learned to talk together and share our loss. It especially stuck us deep this past year on Alicia’s birthday last year. She would have been sixteen and driving.” Five years ago, Robert and Felicia Tillman started a ministry through their church called ABCD. It stands for Alisha’s Baby Closet Delivery in memory of their daughter. Since then, they have provided countless gift packages filled with essential items for new mothers in the community and surrounding areas.

Courage. Perseverance. Service in the community. All have merit. But the thing that speaks louder than all of these is in Robert’s commitment to stay. Even though the grief process was different for him and his wife, the two walked through it together. It takes another kind of perseverance and courage to stay and grow in love. Robert and Felicia both understood that walking away from relationship and isolating themselves would not lessen the pain. That kind of commitment takes true courage.

“Children are a gift,” said Robert, “but it’s your responsibility to do everything you can to help prepare them for the world. Education and providing them with the right safety equipment can make a huge difference.” Helping parents fulfill this responsibility is Robert’s mission. His life of service as a firefighter, Safe Kids Coalition Coordinator, and youth pastor is, without a doubt, admirable. But even more, we acknowledge the courage he demonstrates as a father and husband who loved enough to let his love endure. Surely, this commitment is the greatest mission of all.