(This week The Columbian-Progress spotlights Columbia Fire Department Engineer Brandon Walker.)
Q: When and where were you born?
A: I was born in Jackson Jan. 15, 1993.
Q: Where did you attend school?
A: I went to middle school and high school at Oak Grove.
Q: Where do you work? Tell us about your job/company.
A: I’m the engineer for the Columbia Fire Department for C shift. My primary role is to drive the firetruck and equipment to the scene. I operate the pumps and make sure the firemen inside have sufficient water to extinguish the fire and protect themselves. I help train new guys when we get new guys in. Usually on our shift me or another fireman will handle morning PT to make sure we’re all staying in shape and fit for duty. I’m also in the Army National Guard and just got back from a two-year deployment in Kuwait and Syria.
Q: What led you to your profession?
A: Growing up my mom was a paramedic. Being around that and her having friends at the fire department, I would get to hang around the fire department when I was little. I always thought that was awesome. I joined the military as soon as I got out of high school and started volunteering at the Oak Grove Volunteer Fire Department. When I went on my first structure fire, stuff was blowing up and the adrenaline was going. I knew then this is what I want to do. I went through the fire academy through Lamar County and was working full time before my deployment over there and here. After I came back, I wanted to spend more time with my wife and cut back to just this department.
Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?
A: You don’t do this job with the money we make without having a passion for helping people. Getting out and building relationships with the public, and also the brotherhood you get from spending a third of our lives with the guys here, it becomes your second family.
Q: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
A: Not getting complacent. It’s very easy to come in, do the same thing every day, just fall into a routine and take shortcuts here or there. But in this line of work with the dangers we have, we can’t afford to take shortcuts and slip up because we never know when the tone is going to drop and someone’s house is on fire. If we missed something on the truck check that morning, it could be an essential piece of equipment we need to go in and save somebody’s life with or maybe we didn’t check to see if all of the air packs had enough air before we get there. It can endanger lives and prevent us from doing the job we were called there to do. So maintaining that level of standard is important and challenging.
Q: What is the most important lesson you have learned in your career?
A: Being kind. You never know who you’re coming up to, and everyone deserves respect. Usually when we get called out, it’s not a happy moment. Somebody just lost a life or is injured or just lost everything they own in a fire. Showing that kindness to people whenever you get there makes a big difference.
Q: When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A: I used to keep a little book when I was a kid where I would write down what I wanted to be, and every year you flip through fireman was on every single one of them.
Q: What was your first job?
A: I worked at Marble Slab Creamery. I started the day after my 16th birthday.
Q: Who are the people who have been most influential in your life?
A: My parents, Scott and Robin Walker, because they raised me and taught me how to live, how to respect others and how to be a good Christian man who takes care of his family and has respect.
Q: What is your spouse’s name?
A: Angel Walker. She is a pharmacy technician and is currently in nursing school.
Q: If you could have anything for your last meal on earth, what would it be?
A: Steak, crab legs, steamed broccoli, grilled asparagus and rolls.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: I made a very brief stop in Ireland on my way overseas, and I would love to go and actually spend a little time there. Either there or New Zealand.
Q: What hobbies do you like to do in your spare time?
A: Anything outdoors like hunting, fishing, hanging out on the creek or the river with my family and shooting in general.
Q: What do you enjoy about Columbia and Marion County?
A: I like how small it is. We cover an area that’s like 13 square miles, and you can be anywhere within five minutes. It kind of has that small country town feel to it with a Main Street where you can walk in and talk to people. I like that small-town feel.
Q: If you could have lunch with anyone from your life or history, who would it be and why?
A: My grandmother, Gail Laton, helped raise me, and I lost her when I was 12. It was tough for me, and I’d like to sit down and have one more lunch with her.
Q: If you didn’t have to worry about money, what would you do all day?
A: If I didn’t have to worry about money, this job would be the best of both worlds. I’d still get to be a fireman and have enough money to not have to work two jobs and be gone from family so much.
Q: What moment in your life has had the biggest impact on who you are today?
A: Marrying my wife because that was the moment I sealed who I would spend the rest of my life with. My wife is who I chose to support me, and she chose me to support her. Through all that we’ve been through with every day being a different challenge, she still leans on me and I lean on her. Us being together as a team is the only way we’d be able to make it.
Q: What is one thing you want to do that you’ve never tried?
A: It would be solo skydiving. I’ve been tandem, but a true accelerated freefall jump solo would be cool.
Q: Using one word for each, what are your top three morals?
A: Honesty, trustworthiness and accountability.
Q: How would you like to be remembered?
A: I’d like to be remembered as someone who was always helpful and dependable. I want people to remember that they could have called me at any point in time and ask for help, and I’d be there.
— Joshua Campbell
Pictured Above: Columbia Fire Department Engineer Brandon Walker is responsible for driving the firetruck for C shift. Walker said he has always wanted to be a fireman and would even continue to be one if he never had to worry about money again. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
