Web posted
Friday, June 27, 2008
Winfield names new fire marshal
By JOSHUA AMES
Courier Staff Writer
Some people's families have a legacy of hard work and dedication to a certain profession. Newly promoted Winfield Fire Marshal and Deputy Chief Alan Stoll can say that fire fighting has always been a major element in his life.
Since his birth in Piedmont, S.D., in 1967, Stoll, 41, said he Has always fascinated by fires. His dad, Dick Stoll, was the Piedmont volunteer fire chief.
"I grew up around fires all my life, and I was part of the department at 16 as a junior firefighter," Alan Stoll said.
He still has vivid memories of his days on the volunteer force. Since his father was the fire chief, he fondly remembers the special emergency "fire phone" his dad had installed in their house on top of their regular land line.
"When that thing rang, it meant there was an emergency," said Stoll. "When you're a kid, it's exciting to have a phone like that in your house."
Regardless of the excitement, he knew what he was in store for on emergency calls.
"When it rang, it meant you were going to help somebody," Stoll said. "I think all firefighters have a desire to help people and prevent emergencies from happening in the first place."
After paying his dues as a junior firefighter, Stoll became a full member of the Piedmont Volunteer fire service when he turned 18.
In 1986, after only a year on the force, Stoll left Piedmont to pursue greener pastures in Wichita at McConnell Air Force Base. There he became a private surveyor for rebuilding runways for B-1 bombers.
His time at McConnell, Stoll met his future wife. He also came across an ad for an entry-level firefighting position in a town called Winfield, south of Wichita.
"Through that process, I found out there was a job opening at the Winfield Fire Department, and I was interested in putting in my application," Stoll said.
In March 1990, Stoll got the good news that he had been chosen, among several applicants, to begin his career at the Winfield Fire Department.
That was the beginning of nearly two decades of dedicated service to the City of Winfield. Since his hiring, Stoll has had four promotions.
In 1996, Stoll was promoted to fire engineer position and in 2001 he was promoted to lieutenant. In 2007, he was promoted to fire captain and then in 2008, to fire marshal after Gary Bowker retired in May.
Stoll officially took over for Bowker as fire marshal on June 16, after filling in for him for seven weeks prior to the promotion.
Bowker was important, not just to him, but to the whole department.
"Gary Bowker was a coach and mentor," said Stoll. "I worked very closely with Gary for a number of years, and he taught me what the job responsibilities of a fire marshal are. With things like fire prevention, community education and code enforcement, a lot of projects we worked on together fell under those categories."
The new title and position of deputy fire chief is something that Winfield Fire Chief Curtis Wilson said was necessary to add due to the changing times and safety regulations that firefighters are now required to follow.
"The fire service in America, as a whole, has been heavily focused on fire safety for the last 10 years," said Wilson.
Stoll will now have much more on his plate, since he'll be a commander, on top of a direct assistant to the fire chief, Wilson said.
"We were able to upgrade the position to a deputy chief/fire marshal title, due to extra duties the position has now," said Wilson. "With everything going on in the fire service, from fire prevention to incident command, the realization was that we needed to upgrade the fire marshal position and title to reflect the full responsibilities of the position."
As the new marshal and deputy chief, Stoll said he is finding the work to be rewarding, but a definite change from his past positions.
"It's quite a bit different from my duties as a shift officer," said Stoll with a smile.
He may sit in an office a little more now, but that doesn't mean he has lost touch with his roots as a firefighter who will still get out there.
"I don't like to toot my own horn," said Stoll in a serious tone. "I like to earn the respect of the guys around me, and the guys before me who helped make this fire station what it is. I believe part of what got me here is not emphasizing on myself."
Stoll added that firefighting is not about who can get the fire out first or who is the best at the job. According to Stoll, a fire unit functions on one simple virtue: teamwork.
"The guy that's putting water on the fire is just as important as the guy giving commands," Stoll said. "It's about teamwork. Without teamwork, you can't accomplish anything in this field. I take every emergency one at a time and I try to be prepared for them, as well as having my team mentally prepared. It's not just my efforts. Everybody works together, and that's how we're able to accomplish what we do."
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