Menu
Darrell Jackson looks back on 50 years of firefighting
RUSSELLVILLE — Not far behind his fellow Ron Higgins, Darrell Jackson has been a volunteer firefighter in Russellville for five decades now.
Born and raised in the area, his father was a volunteer at the Russellville Volunteer Fire Department. He joined up in October 1973, as the age to get voted on then was 21.
By his saying so, it was not a busy department then. The turnout gear “pretty much wasn’t,” being rubber-coated canvas coats and helmets with no boots. The trucks’ nylon tires would go flat. The undertaker had the ambulance.
“We didn’t have much at all,” Jackson related to the Banner Graphic recently. “We didn’t have EMS services like we do now. We were just strictly a fire department.”
When he came onto the department, there were no state certifications or mandatory training. Everybody may have been friends, but the local fire departments did not work together much. Training was effectively minimal.
Going back to his start, Jackson did not recall the department having an air pack. As he put it, they just “kinda sucked it up.”
Besides the equipment and apparatus, things have changed quite a bit since. The community has gotten older, meaning that medical runs outpace fire-related ones. Nonetheless, Russellville Fire is depended upon for mutual aid.
From a wire running from a crank telephone at the firehouse to Mrs. Biggs, communications have developed into IamResponding. Three or six whines from a siren on the old water tower is now a phone notification.
Wayne Everman and Phil Carrington were once the old guard. Jackson learned the game from them. However, it works both ways now with the new generation that includes local guys Darrick Wiatt, Jake Armstrong and Grant Bryan.
“They’re a lot more experienced than what a lot of us are, even though we’ve been on the department for a long time,” Jackson said of their due experience as Greencastle firefighters.
“It’s a pretty tight-knit group,” he added to that. “We rely on each other heavily. Sometimes we don’t always agree with each other, but we still learn from each other, and respect what others have to say.”
As a longtime treasurer for a volunteer department, it goes without saying for Jackson that the financials are costly. Apart from funding through the local government entities, they rely on continual support from the community.
The department will not be able to afford new trucks on its own, making grants crucial with the long term. It takes $15,000 or so to fully equip a single firefighter. But they have managed to get what they need to do the job.
Retired from R.R. Donnelley after 32 years, Jackson has worked at Cox Trucking and Co-Alliance. He also is involved in farming, which he said keeps him busy.
“We’ve been fortunate here in the last year,” Jackson said, though, noting how Russellville Fire has brought in new members as such. “As long as we can keep it running, we try.”
Reflecting on how the fire service has evolved since he joined up, learning from mistakes has been important for Jackson. Awareness comes along the way, in the moments.
A 20-pound LP tank lying between his legs once in a burning house became an example of that. With the unknowns of any scenario, a firefighter cannot be safe enough.
In the end, firefighting has been about serving the community for Jackson. His family knows what that has entailed being a volunteer, and he will continue on until he physically cannot do it.
“I don’t like to pat myself on the back, because it’s everybody together who pulls this stuff off,” Jackson said. “If you’re able to help out that long, it’s great.”
Along with Jefferson Township’s Tom Burnett, Jackson and other 50-year volunteers were recognized by lawmakers at the Indiana Statehouse on Feb. 26.