Kenny Rogers is suing Capitol Records, claiming the company has not properly paid him for digital downloads, ringtones and other uses of his songs. Rogers, in the lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Nashville, Tenn.AUBURN – Strength, stamina, self-confidence. Unafraid of heights or confined spaces. Willing to be awakened in the dead of night to work outdoors in below-freezing temperatures.
The qualities could be a checklist of traits necessary to be a firefighter. And over the 125-year history of the Auburn Fire Department much has changed, but those traits have not.
With the help of the community and area fire departments, the Auburn Fire Department commemorated the milestone anniversary Saturday. The celebration was conducted across a 12-block section of downtown Auburn.
Deputy Chief Michael Good estimated the event would draw 5,000 to 7,000 people, gathered for food, music and a little bit of history.
Before there was an Auburn Fire Department, the Hoosier Boys Fire Company took care of Auburn. They drove horse-drawn steamers, and it took about 45 minutes to answer a call, compared with the three-minute response time today, Auburn Mayor Norman Yoder said in his opening-ceremony speech.
Even after the steamers – hoses that were powered by steam – the fire truck proceeded to change. Older trucks show splintered wooden ladders tied to the side with ropes, a far cry from the heavy-duty metal ladders attached to today’s fire trucks.
Good pointed to a fire truck the department acquired in 1976. It cost $62,000. He pointed to another truck, one that’s only seven months old. The price tag: $490,000.
Although the equipment has certainly changed, many of the firefighting techniques have stayed the same, Chief Mike VanZile said.
He would know; he’s been involved with fire departments longer than he’s been a firefighter. His father was on the Butler Fire Department from 1960 to 1980, and VanZile would hang out at the firehouse as a boy. He volunteered there for 10 years before moving to Auburn, where he has been a firefighter for 17 years.
Soon, a third-generation VanZile will get involved – VanZile’s son will join the Explorer post, a program for ages 15 to 20 to learn about the fire service.
“I think it just gets in your blood,” said Clarence Boger, a retired Auburn fire chief who was in the profession from 1965 to 1993. “I liked the thrill of it, and I liked helping people.”
It certainly wasn’t all perfect.
Getting called out of bed in the middle of the night was the worst part, Boger said, and he remembers one call in the 1980s when the wind chill temperature was 60 below zero.
“We were out there for 10 hours,” he said. “I hated to get out in that cold weather.”
