SEARCY — Most people have a defining moment in their careers, and Tom Martin has experienced two.
Martin, who was inducted into the Arkansas Firefighters Hall of Fame in June, relates well with the feeling of watching helplessly asone’s home burns to the ground. On Dec. 6, 1984, a heater malfunctioned, causing a fire that destroyed his home.
“I can understand what somebody is going through when they’re standing there watching their house burn,” said Martin, who is the chaplain for the Searcy Fire Department.
The other defining moment occurred after a Sunday fire call in January 1995. He said it was just after 1 p.m. when the call came in at the Center Hill Volunteer Fire Department, where Martin served as fire chief at the time.
In that fire, a 3-year-old boy and a 15-month-old girl died. Martin said those deaths stuck with him.
“Most of our volunteer firefighters had children that age,” he said.
“And you just have to get back in and do the job you’re trained to do.”
Martin became a volunteer firefighter when the Center Hill Volunteer Fire Department was forming, and he served for 23 years and was chief for 15 years. He has been the chaplain for the Searcy Fire Department for 12 years,and he is also a body life minister at Downtown Church of Christ in Searcy. He’s been a minister for 40 years.
“The role of chaplain is to support those in need,” he said, “and to support the 55 people in our department.”
He said he also works with supporting neighboring fire stations. He goes on calls to help comfort those who have been in automobile crashes, fires or other tragic situations. And it is especially tragic when the department loses one of its own.
“Firefighters tend, by nature, to hold things in,” he said. “They see it as a sign of weakness to let it out, but it’s putting undue stress on the person and the family. I help them cope with the stress of the things you see out there.”
Martin also works closely with the American Red Cross and is trained in emotional first aid and critical-incident stress management. He’s amember of the Arkansas Crisis Response Team and the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation.
Because he has dedicated his life to helping people, hewas nominated for the hallof-fame honor, by which he was surprised. Searcy is one of the few departments with two hall-of-famers on staff. Doug Baker was inducted in2005. He is the department’s emergency management coordinator.
“The fact that he just gives and doesn’t ask for anything in return - not just for thisdepartment, but he’s there for others as well,” Baker said about the reason Martin was nominated for the hall of fame.
“He really amazed me at his commitment, and he’s always there no matter the time of day or night. He’s one of my favorite people.”
Although Martin has a Bachelor of Arts degree in pottery and art history from Harding University, he has dedicated his career to his ministry and the Fire Department. He also attends all the training classes with the other firefightersMartin credits his success to his wife, DeeAnn.
“My wife is always there,” he said. “There’s not one of us who could do what we do without the support of our families.” Staff writer Jeanni Brosius can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or jbrosius@arkansasonline.
com.
Three Rivers, Pages 49 on 07/19/2012