Not even quadruple bypass surgery could keep Myron Turner from helping out his fellow fire fighters.

It was two months since his heart surgery in 2005, when all heck broke loose with the weather. As flooding rains took their toll, Mr. Turner willingly served 84 hours at the Equinunk Volunteer Fire Company’s firehouse, serving as command post, helping dispatch firemen to rescue people and pump out flooded basements.

He’s been a member of the fire department since 1953, even before it was chartered, he says. And he spent 12 to 15 years as Assistant Chief.  A trained fire fighter, the soon to be 75-year-old still serves as fire police. A member for more than half of a century, Mr. Turner says his volunteerism, “comes from the heart.”

Helping out helps the volunteer as well, says Mr. Turner. “You get a good feeling out of helping people.”

Catherine, his wife of 53 years says, “He listens to the scanner and as soon as there’s a call ...”

“I leave my dinner plate sitting in the middle of the table and I’m gone. Many times I’ve done that,” says Mr. Turner, finishing his wife’s sentence.

And if there’s an ambulance call in the area and it’s hard to find, Mrs. Turner says her husband helps navigate. He’s been a charter member of the Damascus Township Volunteer Ambulance Corps. since the beginning. He was Captain of the ambulance for years and helped to build the ambulance building from the ground up in Tyler Hill.
Mr. Turner says, “Volunteerism has gone down tremendously nationwide. The young people haven’t got the time with two of them working. They’ve got babies in the family they can’t leave. They’ve got jobs they can’t leave,” he says. And with the way gas prices are, Mr. Turner says, “It costs volunteers a lot in gas.” But volunteers are so needed. The Turners encourage people to join their local fire and ambulance companies. “It helps save lives,” Mrs. Turner says.

Mr. Turner says there’s no beating the camaraderie of fellow firefighters. “We’d do anything for each other. It’s a brotherhood. If anybody’s got troubles, they’re here to pitch in.”

NOTE: Equinunk Volunteer Fire Company’s Annual Chicken BBQ and Field Day is being held Sunday, July 27, noon until ? at the fire hall. Damascus Township Volunteer Ambulance Corps will also have several booths set up with kids’ games, face painting and prizes. The cost for the BBQ is $9 per adult and $5 for children. Music by Dancing Dan, “The Music Man.”  

      
VOLUNTEER STORIES WANTED: If you know someone who volunteers in the area and would like to be interviewed, please call Tammy Compton at (570)253-3055 or e-mail tcompton@wayneindependent.com.