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Bumgardner ready for family time as his GFD tenure ends
In 25 years of 24-hour shifts, three times a week, Greencastle Firefighter Roy Bumgardner knows he missed a lot of time with family over the years.
So even as he moves on to another full-time job following his recent retirement from GFD, Bumgardner is looking forward to family time, particularly with wife Dana.
"I get more time to be home with my wife. When she gets home, I get home," Bumgardner said. "Hopefully in the long run, I get more time with the family instead of being by myself."
So as he moves on to a job in maintenance at Putnam County Hospital, Bumgardner looks forward to getting off work at 3:30 p.m. and going home, just like his wife does.
In 25 of their nearly 32 years together, it hasn't been that way.
"When I started here I had an almost two-year-old. In 1992, we had our second daughter," Bumgardner said. "That makes it very difficult when your wife works and you work here and you have a four-year-old and a newborn."
Those 24-hour shifts meant mornings and nights with two small girls and no help.
"People don't realize how tough that is," Bumgardner said. "It takes a special man or woman as a spouse to realize that. And mine's been great."
As for the job itself, Bumgardner said he would do it all over again, even in a stressful job that often deals with tragedy.
"It's full of ups and downs. There seem to be a lot more ups than downs. And the ups here are very rewarding," Bumgardner said.
"Because of this job I've had many opportunities that have taken me out of town on exciting trips to things I wouldn't have done if I wasn't with Greencastle Fire Department," he added.
One of these he recalled Thursday during a fire department open house in his honor was a trip to Fort McClellan, Ala. Even though there was serious training to be done, Bumgardner said he took in the fun, unique experience it provided.
He also values the way the job has kept him young, particularly when he's had the chance to deal with children.
As for co-workers, the veteran says teamwork is second to none.
"You might not get along with your co-workers and hate them in the moment, but then that bell rings and all that goes out the window," Bumgardner said. "We go out and work well as a team."
His daughters now grown and a three-year-old granddaughter now in the mix, Bumgardner said he likes to think his chosen career had a positive impact on his girls. Daughter Kayla is now director of nursing at Putnamville Correctional Facility, while daughter Karly is a hairstylist who also has her EMT license.
In moving on to PCH, Bumgardner rejoins Jeff Mace, with whom he worked at the fire department for 20 years. Mace is just one of many he's worked with over the years.
"I've watched many, many firemen come and go -- 20 in all," he said.
On Thursday, many of those former co-workers rejoined Bumgardner at the station, wishing him well as he moves on to the next chapter of life.
"It's been a great career," Bumgardner said. "If I had it to do over, I'd do the same thing."