Local Fire Chief Named This Week's Hero

(April 12, 2012) - This week's Billy Johnson Community Hero is a man who is known throughout the region for coming to people's rescue when their lives are in danger, and has been doing that for the past 40 years. Glen Adkins, the chief of the Millard/East Shelbiana Fire Department and Dive Team says it all started for him 40 years ago this month. "It all started in April, 1972. A man's trailer caught on fire on Rocky Road, and him and his wife got out with only the shirts on their backs," recalls Adkins. "That made us realize that we needed some type of fire protection."

And, that was the start of only part of what he does. Several years later, after dozens of flash floods, boating accidents and drownings, Glen saw the need to start a dive team. But, he says working in the water in our region is not an easy task. "The dive team came into place in 1980. Most of our water here has no visibility. Probably 20% of our calls are in the lake and 80% of them are in the river. In the river, you have virtually zero visibility," explained Adkins.

And, everyone knows being a volunteer firefighter and answering calls when you know lives are depending on you is not for everyone. Glen recalls a few accidents he has responded to that made him realize that he knew he was doing what he was meant to do. "Probably the latest one was the school bus wreck at Millard. A truck came around the curve and hit a school bus that was loaded with kids, and the driver was trapped bad," he remembered. "It makes you feel good to be able to get them off the bus safely and get her from being pinned. The good part of it is when you are able to help somebody or save someone's life, or even find a victim who has been drowned for two to three weeks. It gives the family closure."

Congratulations, Glen Adkins, this week's Billy Johnson Community Hero!