(Leitchfield, KY) – The K105-Carter Harrell and Dale Woosley State Farm First Responder of the Week is Leitchfield Fire Chief Tim Duvall. It’s been an interesting week for the fire chief, who says firemen are trained to expect the unexpected; however, a charging bull may have never entered his thoughts of what he would see while responding to emergency situations.
Earlier this week, Chief Duvall responded to the scene of an accident on the WK Parkway after a semi-truck hauling cattle had crashed, and multiple cattle escaped the trailer. As Chief Duvall was checking on the driver, a bull charged him, leaving lacerations to his forearm. He explained the bull noticed other cattle on-the-move and the bull joined in the march and away from Duvall.
The genesis of Duvall’s desire to serve his community in such a dangerous career was sparked after he was in an accident while in high school. The truck overturned, trapping him inside, and he watched as then fireman Harley Stevenson, and others worked to extricate him from the truck. Duvall said at that time he knew he wanted to train as a fireman. Which he did in 1989 and joined the Anneta Fire Dept., before moving to the Leitchfield Fire Department in 1992.
Duvall was the first full-time fireman hired by the City of Leitchfield in 2003, and recently a third hired fireman joined the LFD.
Duvall says the days of having an adequate number of volunteers have “gone to the wayside.” He speculated at the cause of disinterest in the next generation stepping up and volunteering, but in the end said he would give out his personal cell phone number if anyone is seriously interested in training as a volunteer fire first responder: (270) 589-7364.
Duvall said it takes a 15-person-crew to safely operate the scene of a structure fire, and 4-5 person-crew to navigate the scene of an accident. He said he sees more paid positions needed in the future to fill the void coming from the lack of new volunteers.
